To 


•The  South  Pole  for  us  all !  " — Frontispiece,  Page  58, 


The 
Great    White    Way 


A  Record  of  an  Unusual  Voyage  of  Discovery,  and  some 

Romantic  I*ove  Affairs  amid  Strange  Surroundings. 

The  Whole  Recounted  by  one  Nicholas  Chase, 

Promoter    of   the    Expedition,    whose 

Reports    have   been    Arranged 

for  Publication   by 

ALBERT  BIGELOW  PAINED 

Author  of  •'  The    Van  Dwellers"  "  The  Bread  Line"  etc. 
WITH   DRAWINGS         BERNARD    J.  ROSENMEYER, 

CH<AUNCF:Y  GALE,  AND  MAPS, 

'OUIOM/MR.  CHASE'S  NOTE  BOOK 


IRew 

J.  F.  TAYLOR  &  COMPANY 
1901 


COPYRIGHT,  1901, 
BY  J.  F.  TAYLOR  &  CO. 


PS 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGB 

I.  Answer  to  an  Old  Summons 5 

II.  I  Renew  an  Old  Dream 7 

III.  Even  Seeking  to  Realize  It n 

I V.  Turning  to  the  Sea,  at  Last,  for  Solace 15 

V.  I  Overhaul  the  Steam  Yacht,  Billowcrest 20 

VI.  Where  All  Things  Become  Possible 49 

VII.  I  Learn  the  Way  of  the  Sea,  and  Enter  More  Fully  Into 

My  Heritage 59 

VII I.  The  Halcyon  Way  to  the  South 70 

IX.  Admonition  and  Counsel 76 

X.  Captain  Biffer  is  Assisted  by  the  Pampeiro 86 

XI.   In  Gloomy  Seas 95 

XII.   Where  Captain  Biffer  Revises  Some  Opinions 99 

XIII.  In  the  "  Fighting- Top  " 106 

XIV.  An  Excursion  and  an  Experiment 115 

XV.  As  Reported  by  My  Note-Book 121 

XVI.  Following  the  Pacemaker 134 

XVII.  Investigation  and  Discovery 146 

XVIII.  A  "  Borning  "  and  a  Mystery 15° 

XIX.  A  Long  Farewell 154 

XX.  The  Long  Dark 174 

XXI.  An  Arrival  and  a  Departure 183 

XXII.  On  the  Air- Line,  South iqo 


4  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  PAGH 

XXIII.  The  Cloudcrest  Makes  a  Landing 199 

XXIV.  The  Great  White  Way 209 

XXV.  Where  the  Way  Ends 215 

XXVI.  The  Welcome  to  the  Unknown 223 

XXVII.  The  Prince  of  the  Purple  Fields 228 

XXVIII.  A  Harbor  of  Forgotten  Dreams 235 

XXIX.  A  Land  of  the  Heart's  Desire 243 

XXX.  The  Lady  of  the  Lilies 249 

XXXI.  The  Pole  at  Last 253 

XXXII.  An  Offering  to  the  Sun 264 

XXXIII.  The  Touch  of  Life 269 

XXXIV.  The  Pardon  of  Love 279 

XXXV.  Down  the  River  of  Coming  Dark 290 

XXXVI.  The  "  Passage  of  the  Dead  " 293 

XXXVII.  The  Rising  Tide 301 

XXXVIII.  Storm  and  Stress 305 

XXXIX.  Where  Dreams  Become  Real 315 

XL.  Claiming  the  Reward 322 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


"The  South  Pole  for  us  all!"  (page  58)  Frontispiece 
"Then,  somebody  was  clinging  to  me"      .      Page  93 

"  From  our  high  vantage  we  could  command 

a  vast  circle  of  sunless,  melancholy  cold  "     "    117 

"  Cut  her,  Nick,  cut  her!   I  can't  stick  on  any 

longer!  "    .          .          .          .          .          .  "    202 

THE  PALACE  OF  THE  PRINCE 
"A  harbor  for  vanished  argosies  and  forgot 
ten  dreams "  .          .         .          .          .     "   242 

THE  PARDON  OF  LOVE 
"There  fell  upon  them  a  long  golden  bar  of 

the  returning  sunlight "     .         .         .          .     "    288 


DRAMATIS    PERSONS 

OF 

THE    GREAT    WHITE    WAY. 

NICHOLAS  CHASE,  a  young  man  with  a  dream  of  dis 
covery,  and  an  inherited  love  of  the  sea. 

CHAUNCEY  GALE,  a  merry  millionaire,  with  a  willingness 
to  back  his  judgment. 

EDITH  GALE,  his  daughter,  a  girl  with  accomplishments 
and  ideas. 

ZAR,  colored  maid  and  former  nurse  of  Edith  Gale.  A 
woman  with  no  "  fool  notions  "  about  the  South  Pole. 

FERRATONI,  an  Italian  electrician  with  wireless  commu 
nication,  and  subtle  psychic  theories. 

CAPTAIN  JOSEPH  BIFFER,  Master  of  the  Billowcrest.  An 
old  salt,  with  little  respect  for  wild  expeditions. 

TERENCE  LARKINS,  First  Officer  of  the  Billowcrest,  with 
a  disregard  of  facts. 

MR.  EMORY,  Second  Officer  of  the  Billowcrest. 

WILLIAM  STURRITT,  Steward  of  the  Billowcrest,  and  in 
ventor  of  condensed  food  tablets. 

FRENCHY,  a  bosen  who  stirs  up  trouble. 

PRINCE  OF  THE  PURPLE  FIELDS,  a  gentle  despot  of  the 
Port  of  Dreams. 

PRINCESS  OF  THE  LILIED  HILLS,  His  Serene  Sister,  whose 
domain  is  the  deepest  South. 

Three  maidens  of  the  Land  of  Dreams  and  Lotus. 

A  shipwrecked  sailor,  whose  rescue  is  important  to  all 
concerned. 

Cabin  boy,  stewardess,  and  crew  of  the  Billowcrest. 

Courtiers,  populace,  etc.,  of  the  Land  of  the  Sloping  Sun. 


THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 


i. 

ANSWER    TO    AN    OLD    SUMMONS. 

For  more  than  ten  generations  my  maternal  an 
cestors  have  been  farers  of  the  sea,  and  I  was  born 
within  call  of  high  tide.  At  the  distance  of  a  thou 
sand  miles  inland  it  still  called  me,  and  often  in 
childhood  I  woke  at  night  from  dreams  of  a  blue 
harbor  with  white  sails. 

It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that  I  should  return 
to  the  coast.  When,  at  the  age  of  thirty,  I  found 
myself  happily  rid  of  a  commercial  venture — con 
ducted  for  ten  years  half-heartedly  and  with  insig 
nificant  results — it  was  only  natural  that  I  should 
set  my  face  seaward.  My  custom,  of  which  there 
was  never  any  great  amount,  and  my  goodwill,  of 
which  there  was  ever  an  abundance,  I  had  dis 
posed  of  to  one  who  was  likely  to  reverse  these  con 
ditions — his  methods  in  the  matter  of  trade  being 
rather  less  eccentric  than  my  own.  He  had  been 
able  to  pay  me  in  cash  the  modest  sum  agreed  upon, 

5 


6  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

and  this  amount  I  now  hoped  to  increase  through 
some  marine  investment  or  adventure — something 
that  would  bring  me  at  once  into  active  sea  life — 
though  I  do  not  now  see  what  this  could  have  been, 
and  I  confess  that  my  ideas  at  the  time  were  some 
what  vague. 


II. 

I  RENEW  AN  OLD  DREAM. 

PERHAPS  first  of  all  I  wished  to  visit  the  South 
Pole — not  an  unreasonable  ambition  it  would  seem 
for  one  backed  by  ten  generations  of  sea  captains 
and  ocean  faring — but  one  that  I  found  not  alto 
gether  easy  to  gratify.  For  one  thing,  there  was 
no  Antarctic  expedition  forming  at  the  time;  and 
then,  my  notions  in  the  matter  were  not  popular. 

From  boyhood  it  had  been  my  dream  that  about 
the  earth's  southern  axis,  shut  in  by  a  precipitous 
wall  of  ice,  there  lay  a  great  undiscovered  world. 
Not  a  bleak  desolation  of  storm-swept  peaks  and 
glaciers,  but  a  fair,  fruitful  land,  warmed  and  nour 
ished  from  beneath  by  the  great  central  heat 
brought  nearer  to  the  surface  there  through  terres 
trial  oblation,  or,  as  my  geography  had  put  it,  the 
"  flattening  of  the  poles." 

I  had  held  to  this  fancy  for  a  long  time  on  the 
basis  of  theory  only,  and.  perhaps,  the  added  pre 
mise  that  nature  would  not  allow  so  vast  a  tract  as 
the  Antarctic  Continent  to  lie  desolate.  But,  curi- 

7 


8  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

ously  enough,  about  the  time  I  arrived  in  New 
York  I  met  with  what  seemed  to  me  undoubted  bits 
of  evidence  in  the  reports  of  some  recent  polar  ob 
servations. 

Borchgrevink,  a  Norwegian  explorer,  returning 
with  a  poorly  fitted  Antarctic  expedition,  reported, 
among  other  things,  a  warm  current  off  Victoria 
Land,  at  a  point  below  the  71  st  parallel,  and  flow 
ing  approximately  from  the  direction  of  the  pole!  * 

Nansen,  another  Norwegian,  in  the  Arctic  Polar 
Sea,  had  been  astonished  to  find  that  the  water  at 
a  great  depth,  instead  of  being  colder  than  at  the 
surface  as  he  had  expected,  was  'warmer!  He  had 
also  found  that  as  he  progressed  northward  from 
80°  the  thermometer  had  been  inclined  to  rise  rath 
er  than  to  fall.  To  be  sure,  when  he  arrived  at  a 
point  within  a  little  more  than  two  hundred  miles  of 
the  earth's  axis,  he  had  found  only  a  continuance  of 
ice — a  frozen  sea  which  undoubtedly  extended  to 


"*  It  seems  to  me,"  he  says,  in  an  article  printed  in  the 
Century  Magazine  (January,  1896),  "that  an  investigation  of 
the  origin  and  consequences  of  the  •warm  current  running 
northeast,  which  we  experienced  in  Victoria  Bay,  is  of  the 
greatest  importance." 

True,  Borchgrevink  believed  the  Antarctic  Continent  to  be 
an  exceptionally  cold  one,  but  for  this  he  was  not  to  blame. 
No  man  can  help  what  he  does  or  does  not  believe  in  these  mat 
ers  regardless  of  sound  logic  and  able  reasoning  to  the  con- 
rary.— N.  C. 


/  RENEW  AN  OLD  DREAM.          9 

the  pole  itself;  but  this  frigidity  I  attributed  to  the 
fact  that  it  was  a  sea  into  which,  from  the  zone  of 
fierce  cold  below,  were  constantly  forced  huge  ice 
floes.  These,  as  I  conceived,  would  maintain  the 
condition  of  cold  in  the  Arctics  by  shutting  out  the 
under  warmth,  through  which,  however,  they 
would  be  gradually  melted — to  be  discharged  in 
those  great  Arctic  currents  which  Nansen  and  other 
explorers  had  observed.  The  lack  of  thickness  in 
the  ice  forming  about  the  pole  had  also  been  noted 
with  some  surprise.  This  too,  I  claimed,  was  due  to 
the  warm  earth  beneath  it  which,  while  it  could  not 
much  affect  the  general  climate,  when  some  three 
miles  of  very  chilly  water  and  several  feet  of  sub 
stantial  ice  lay  between,  did  serve  as  a  provision  of 
nature  to  prevent  the  northern  sea  from  becoming 
one  mighty  solidified  mass. 

Now,  ice-floes  could  not  be  forced  wland,  as 
would  have  to  be  the  case  in  the  Antarctics  where 
there  was  admittedly  a  continent  instead  of  a  sea. 
Around  this  continent,  it  was  said,  there  lay  a  pre 
cipitous  frozen  wall  which  no  man  had  ever  scaled. 
What  lay  beyond,  no  man  of  our  world  had  ever 
seen.  But  in  my  fancy  I  saw  those  ramparts  of 
eternal  ice  receding  inward  to  a  pleasant  land,  as 
the  snow-capped  Sierras  slope  to  the  verdant  plains 
of  California.  A  pleasant  land — a  fair  circular 
world — temperate  in  its  outer  zone,  becoming  even 


io  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

tropic  at  the  center,  and  extending  no  less  than  a 
thousand  miles  from  rim  to  rim.  There,  I  believed, 
unknown  to  the  world  without,  a  great  and  perhaps 
enlightened  race  lived  and  toiled — loved  and  died. 


III. 


EVEN   SEEKING  TO   REALIZE  IT. 

BUT  scientists,  I  was  grieved  to  find,  took  very 
little  stock  in  these  views.  Even  such  as  were  will 
ing  to  listen  declared  that  the  earth's  oblation 
counted  for  nothing.  Most  of  them  questioned  the 
existence  of  a  great  central  heat — some  dis 
puted  it  altogether.  The  currents  and  tem 
peratures  reported  by  Nansen,  Borchgrevink  and 
others,  they  ascribed,  as  nearly  as  I  can  remember, 
to  centrifugal  deflections,  to  gmvitatory  adjust 
ments — to  anything,  in  fact,  rather  than  what 
seemed  to  me  the  simple  and  obvious  causes. 
As  a  rule,  they  ridiculed  the  idea  of  a  habitable 
world,  or  even  the  possibility  of  penetrating 
the  continent  at  all.  When  I  timidly  referred  to  a 
plan  I  had  partially  conceived — something  with  bal 
loons  in  it — they  despised  me  so  openly  that  I  was 
grateful  not  to  be  dismissed  with  violence.  I  can 
not  forego  one  brief  example. 

He  was  a  stout,  shiny-coated  man,  with  the 
round  eyes  and  human  expression  of  a  seal.  He 
took  me  quite  seriously,  however,  which  some  of 
them  had  not.  Also  himself,  and  the  world  in  gen- 


12  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

eral.  When  I  had  briefly  stated  my  convictions  he 
put  his  fingers  together  in  front  of  his  comfortable 
roundness  and  regarded  me  solemnly.  Then  he 
said: 

"  My  dear  young  man,  you  are  pursuing  what 
science  terms  an  ignis  fatuus,  commonly  and  vul 
garly  known  as  a  will-o'-the-wisp.  You  are  wast 
ing  your  time,  and  I  assure  you  that  neither  I  nor 
my  associates  in  science  could,  or  would,  indorse 
your  sophistries,  or  even  stand  idly  by  and  see  you 
induce  the  unthinking  man  of  means  to  invest  in 
an  undertaking  which  we,  as  men  of  profound  re 
search  and  calm  understanding,  could  not,  and 
therefore  would  not  approve."  He  cleared  his 
throat  with  a  phocine  bark  at  the  end  of  this  period 
and  settled  himself  for  the  next.  "  Men  in  all 
ages,"  he  proceeded,  "  have  undertaken,  in  the 
cause  of  science,  difficult  tasks,  and  at  vast  expen 
diture,  when  there  was  a  proper  scientific  basis  for 
the  effort." 

He  paused  again.  My  case  was  hopeless  so  far 
as  he  was  concerned — that  was  clear.  I  would 
close  the  interview  with  a  bit  of  pleasantry. 

"  Ah,  yes,  "  I  suggested,  "  such  as  the  '  hunting 
of  the  snark/  for  instance.  Well,  perhaps  I  shall 
find  the  snark  at  the  South  Pole,  when  I  get  there, 
who  knows?  " 

The  human  seal  lifted  one  flipper  and  scratched 


SEEKING  TO  REALIZE  IT.  13 

his  head  for  a  moment  gravely.     Then  he  said  with 
great  severity: 

'  Young  man,  I  do  not  recall  the  genus  snark. 
I  do  not  believe  that  science  recognizes  the  exist 
ence  of  such  a  creature.  Yet,  even  so,  it  is  most 
unlikely  that  its  habitat  should  be  the  South  Pole." 

I  retired  then,  strong  in  the  conclusion  that  the 
imagination  of  the  average  scientist  is  a  fixed  equa 
tion,  and  his  humor  an  unknown  quantity.  Also 
that  his  chief  sphere  of  usefulness  lies  in  being  able 
to  establish  mathematically  a  fact  already  discov 
ered  by  accident.  The  accident  had  not  yet  oc 
curred,  hence  the  time  for  the  scientist  and  his 
arithmetic  was  not  at  hand. 

I  now  sought  capital  without  science,  but  the  re 
sults  though  interesting  were  not  gratifying. 

A  millionaire  editor,  a  very  Croesus  of  journalism, 
was  my  final  experience  in  this  field.  He  didn't 
have  any  time  to  throw  away,  but  I  seemed  reason 
ably  well-fed,  and  he  saw  I  was  in  earnest,  so  he 
was  willing  to  listen.  He  put  his  feet  upon  a  table 
near  me  while  he  did  it.  When  I  got  the  bald  fact? 
out  and  was  getting  ready  to  amplify  a  little  he 
broke  in : 

"  How  long  would  it  take  you  to  go  there  and  get 
back?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  hardly  know — five  years,  perhaps — possibly 
longer.  " 


14  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

The  millionaire  editor  took  his  feet  down. 

"  Humph !  Hundred  thousand  dollars  for  a  Sun 
day  beat  and  five  years  to  get  it !  No,  I  don't  think 
\ve  want  any  South  Poles  in  this  paper ' 

"  But  in  the  cause  of  human  knowledge  and 
science,"  I  argued. 

"  My  friend,  "  he  said,  "  the  only  human  knowl 
edge  and  science  that  T  am  interested  in  is  the 
knowledge  and  science  of  getting  out,  next  Sunday 
and  the  Sunday  after,  a  better  paper  than  that  lan 
tern-faced  pirate  down  the  street  yonder.  When 
you've  found  your  South  Pole  and  brought  back  a 
piece  of  it,  come  in,  and  I'll  pay  you  more  for  the 
first  slice  than  anybody  else,  no  matter  what  they 
offer.  But  you're  too  long  range  for  us  just  at 
present.  Good  day !  " 


IV. 

TURNING    TO    THE    SEA,    AT    LAST,    FOR    SOLACE. 

HAVING  thus  met  only  with  rebuff  and  disaster 
in  the  places  where  it  seemed  to  me  I  had  most  rea 
son  to  expect  welcome  and  encouragement,  I  turned 
for  comfort  to  those  who,  like  my  forbears,  went 
down  to  the  sea  in  ships.  Along  South  Street, 
where  the  sky  shows  through  a  tangle  of  rigging, 
and  long  bowsprits  threaten  to  poke  out  windows 
across  the  way,  I  forgot  my  defeats  and  even,  for  a 
time,  my  purpose,  as  I  revelled  in  my  long-delayed 
heritage  of  the  sea. 

It  was  the  ships  from  distant  ports  that  fasci 
nated  me  most.  My  Uncle  Nicholas — a  sailor  who 
was  more  than  half  a  poet — had  been  in  the 
foreign  trade.  I  remembered  him  dimly  as  a  big 
brown-faced  man  who  had  told  me  of  far  lands  and 
shipwrecks,  and  rocked  me  to  sleep  to  the  words  and 
tune  of  an  old  hymn,  of  which  I  could  still  repeat 
the  stanza  beginning, 

"  The  storm  that  wrecks  the  winter  sky." 

His  vessel  with  all  on  board  had  disappeared 
somewhere  in  the  dark  waters  below  Cape 


16  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

Horn  more  than  twenty  years  before.  I  had 
inherited  half  of  his  name  and  a  number  of  precious 
trinkets  brought  home  during  his  early  days  of 
seafaring — also,  it  was  supposed,  something  of  his 
tastes  and  disposition.  In  a  manner  I  was  his  heir, 
and  the  tall-masted,  black-hulled  barks  that  came 
in  from  the  Orient — to  be  pushed  as  quietly  into 
place  at  the  dock  as  if  they  had  but  just  been  towed 
across  the  East  River  from  Brooklyn — these,  it 
seemed  to  me,  were  his  ships,  hence,  my  ships  that 
were  coming  in,  at  last. 

I  found  in  them  treasures  of  joy  unspeakable. 
Those  from  around  the  Horn  seemed  to  bring  me 
direct  messages  from  the  lost  sailor.  I  felt  that  had 
he  lived  he  would  have  believed  in  my  dreams  and 
helped  me  to  make  them  reality.  At  times  I  even 
went  so  far  as  to  imagine  that  his  ship  had  not  gone 
down  at  all,  but  had  sailed  away  to  some  fair  harbor 
of  the  South,  whence  he  had  not  cared  to  return. 

It  thrilled  me  even  to  touch  one  of  those  weather- 
beaten  hulls.  The  humblest  and  most  unwashed 
seaman  wrought  a  spell  upon  me  as  he  made  a  pre 
tense  of  polishing  a  bit  of  brass  or  of  mopping  up 
the  afterdeck.  He  had  braved  fierce  storms.  He 
had  spent  long  nights  spinning  yarns  in  the  fore 
castle.  Perhaps  he  had  been  wrecked  and  had 
drifted  for  weeks  in  an  open  boat.  It  might  be  that 
he  had  been  driven  by  storms  into  those  gloomy  seas 


TURNING  TO  THE  SEA.  17 

of  the  South — even  to  the  very  edge  of  my  Antarc 
tic  world ! 

When  they  would  let  me  I  went  on  board,  to 
fall  over  things  and  ask  questions.  My  knowl 
edge  of  shipping  was  about  what  could  be  expected 
of  one  whose  life  had  been  spent  on  the  prairies  of 
the  West,  with  now  and  then  a  fleeting  glimpse  of 
a  Mississippi  River  steamer.  I  suppose  they  wond 
ered  how  I  could  be  so  interested  in  a  subject,  con 
cerning  which  I  displayed  such  a  distressing  lack 
of  knowledge.  They  were  willing  to  enlighten  me, 
however,  for  considerations  of  tobacco  or  money, 
and  daily  I  made  new  bosom  friends — some  of  them, 
1  suspect,  as  unholy  a  lot  of  sea-rovers  as  ever  found 
reward  at  the  end  of  a  yard-arm. 

I  did  not  seek  technical  instruction.  What  I 
yearned  for  was  their  personal  experiences,  and 
these  they  painted  for  me  in  colorings  of  the  sea 
and  sky,  and  in  such  measure  as  the  supplies  were 
forthcoming.  Almost  to  a  man  they  readily  re 
membered  my  Uncle  Nicholas,  but  as  they  differed 
widely  concerning  his  stature,  complexion  and  gen 
eral  attributes,  I  was  prone  to  believe  at  last  that 
they  would  have  recalled  him  quite  as  willingly  un 
der  any  other  name;  and  indeed  I  found  this  to  be 
true  when  I  made  the  experiment,  finally,  of  giv 
ing  his  name  as  Hopkins,  or  Pierce,  or  Samelson, 
instead  of  the  real  one,  which  had  been  Love  joy. 
2 


1 8  THE  ORE  A  T  WHITE  WA  Y. 

I  gathered  courage  presently  to  interview  the  of 
ficers,  but  these  I  found  rather  less  entertaining, 
perhaps  because  they  were  more  truthful.  Only 
one  of  them  recalled  my  Uncle  Nicholas,  a  kindly 
first  mate,  and  I  suspect  that  even  this  effort  re 
sulted  from  a  desire  to  please  rather  than  from  any 
real  mental  process  or  strict  regard  for  verities. 

I  suppose  I  annoyed  them,  too,  for  I  threw  out  a 
hint  now  and  then  which  suggested  my  becoming  a 
part  of  their  ship's  company,  though  in  what  ca 
pacity  or  for  what  purpose  neither  I  nor  they  could 
possibly  imagine.  As  for  my  Antarctic  scheme,  I 
presently  avoided  mentioning  it,  or,  at  most,  re 
ferred  to  it  but  timidly.  Indeed,  I  demeaned  my 
self  so  far  at  times  as  to  recall  it  in  jest  as  the  wild 
fancy  of  some  mythical  third  party  whose  reasoning 
and  mentality  were  properly  matters  of  ridicule  and 
contempt. 

For  I  had  discovered  early  in  the  game  that  the 
conception  of  a  warm  country  at  the  South  Pole  ap 
pealed  as  little  to  the  seaman  as  to  the  scientist. 
The  sailors  whom  I  had  subsidized  most  liberally 
regarded  me  with  suspicion  and  unconsciously 
touched  their  foreheads  at  the  suggestion,  while 
the  kindly  first  officer,  who  had  been  willing  to  re 
member  my  uncle,  promptly  forgot  him  again  and 
walked  away. 

T  passed  my  days  at  length  in  wandering  rather 


TURNING  TO  THE  SEA.  19 

silently  about  the  docks  and  shipping  offices,  seek 
ing  to  invest  my  slender  means  in  some  venture  or 
adventure  of  the  sea  that  would  take  me  into  many 
ports  and  perhaps  yield  me  a  modest  income  besides. 
I  consulted  a  clairvoyant  among  other  things,  a 
greasy  person  on  Twenty-third  Street,  who  took  me 
into  a  dim,  dingy  room  and  told  me  that  I  was  con 
templating  something-or-other  and  that  somebody- 
or-other  would  have  something-or-other  to  do  with 
it.  This  was  good  as  far  as  it  went.  I  was,  in 
fact,  contemplating  most  of  the  time.  I  was  ready 
for  anything — to  explore,  to  filibuster,  to  seek 
for  hidden  treasure — to  go  anywhere  and  to  do 
anything  that  would  make  me  fairly  and  legitimate 
ly  a  part  and  parcel  with  the  sea.  I  read  one  morn 
ing  of  a  daring  voyager  who  in  a  small  boat  had  set 
out  to  sail  around  the  world  alone.  I  would  have 
given  all  that  I  possessed  to  have  gone  with  him, 
and  for  a  few  moments  I  think  I  even  contemplated 
a  similar  undertaking.  But  as  I  did  not  then  know 
a  gaff  from  a  flying-jib,  and  realizing  that  my  voy 
age  would  probably  be  completed  with  suddenness 
and  violence  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Sandy  Hook,  I  resisted  the  impulse.  As  for  my 
Antarctic  dream,  its  realization  seemed  even  far 
ther  away  than  when  as  a  boy  I  had  first  conceived 
it,  some  fifteen  years  before. 


V. 

I  OVERHAUL  THE  STEAM  YACHT,  DILLOWCREST. 

IT  was  early  spring  when  I  had  arrived  in  New 
York,  and  the  summer  heat  had  begun  to  wane 
when  I  first  set  eyes  on  the  Billowcrest,  and  its  own 
er,  Chauncey  Gale. 

On  one  of  those  cool  mornings  that  usually  come 
during  the  first  days  of  August  I  was  taking  a  stroll 
up  Riverside  Drive.  Below  me  lay  the  blue  Hud 
son,  and  at  a  little  dock  just  beyond  Grant's  Tomb 
a  vessel  was  anchored.  Looking  down  on  her  from 
above  it  was  evident,  even  to  my  unprofessional  eye, 
that  she  was  an  unusual  craft.  Her  hull  was 
painted  white  like  that  of  a  pleasure  yacht  and  its 
model  appeared  to  have  been  constructed  on  some 
such  lines.  Also,  an  awning  sheltered  her  decks, 
suggesting  the  sumptuous  pleasures  of  the  truly 
rich.  But  she  was  much  larger  than  any  yacht  I 
had  ever  seen,  and  fully  bark-rigged — carrying 
both  steam  and  sail.  She  was  wider,  too,  in  pro 
portion  to  her  length,  and  her  cabins  seemed  rather 
curiously  disposed.  A  man  laboring  up  the  slope 


20 


/  OVERHAUL  THE  BILLOWCREST.    21 

took  occasion  to  enlighten  me.  He  had  just  inves 
tigated  on  his  own  account. 

"  Great  boat,  that,"  he  panted.  "  Cost  a  million, 
and  belongs  to  a  man  named  Gale.  Made  his 
money  in  real  estate  and  built  her  himself,  after  his 
own  ideas.  He  wasn't  a  sailor  at  all,  but  he'd 
planned  lots  of  houses  and  knew  what  he  wanted, 
and  had  the  money  to  pa}'  for  it.  No  other  boat 
like  her  in  the  world  and  not  apt  to  be ;  but  she  suits 
him  and  she  goes  all  right,  and  that's  all  that's  nec 
essary,  ain't  it?  " 

I  said  that  it  was,  and  I  presently  went  down  to 
look  at  her.  I  do  not  now  remember  that  I  was 
prompted  by  any  other  motive  than  to  see,  if  pos 
sible,  what  a  man  looked  like  who  could  afford  to 
disregard  the  laws  and  traditions  of  ship  architec 
ture,  and  build  and  own  a  million  dollar  steamer 
after  his  own  model,  and  for  his  own  pleasure. 
Also,  I  had  a  natural  curiosity  to  learn  something 
of  what  sort  of  vessel  would  result  from  these  con 
ditions. 

As  I  drew  nearer  I  was  still  further  impressed 
with  her  remarkable  breadth  of  beam,  suggesting 
comfort  rather  than  speed,  and  by  the  unusual  flare 
and  flatness  of  her  hull,  reminding  me  of  the  model 
of  Western  steamers  built  for  log  jams  and  shallow 
water.  Connecting  with  the  dock  was  a  small 
gangway,  at  the  top  of  which  stood  a  foreign-look- 


2  2  THE  GREA  T  WHITE  WA  Y. 

ing  sailor  in  uniform.  Across  his  cap,  in  white  let 
ters,  was  the  word,  "  BILLOWCREST."  He 
regarded  me  distrustfully  as  I  walked  up  and  down, 
and  one  or  two  suggestions  I  made,  with  a  view  of 
conveying  to  him  my  good  opinion  of  his  boat,  as 
well  as  the  impression  that  I  knew  a  lot  about 
yachts  in  general,  he  acknowledged  grudgingly  and 
in  mixed  tongues.  I  disapproved  of  him  from  the 
start,  and  as  later  events  showed,  with  sufficient  rea 
son.  Having  looked  over  the  vessel  casually  I 
halted  at  last  in  front  of  the  gangway. 

"  I  should  like  to  come  on  board,  "  I  said. 

The   polyglot    dissented. 

"  No  admit.     Mis'r  Gale  command." 

"  Is  Mr.  Gale  himself  on  board?" 

I  assumed  a  manner  of  severity  with  a  view  of 
convincing  him  that  I  was  of  some  importance,  and 
at  the  same  instant  ascended  the  gang-plank,  ex 
tending  my  card  before  me.  Of  course  the  card 
meant  nothing  to  him  except  that  I  was  able  to  have 
a  card,  but  I  could  see  that  he  hesitated  and  was 
lost.  Evidently  he  had  little  knowledge  of  the 
great  American  game  when  I  could  intimidate  him 
with  one  card. 

He  returned  presently,  and  scowlingly  led  me 
into  a  little  saloon  forward.  Then  he  disappeared 
again  and  I  was  left  to  look  at  my  surroundings. 
A  desk,  a  fireplace  with  a  gas-log,  some  chairs  sug- 


/  OVERHAUL  THE  BILLOWCREST.    23 

gestive  of  comfort,  a  stairway,  probably  leading  to 
the  bridge  above.  The  evidences  of  the  real  estate 
man's  genius  were  becoming  apparent.  I  might 
have  been  in  the  reception  hall  of  any  one  of  a 
thousand  country  cottages  in  the  better  class  sub 
urbs  of  New  York.  I  had  barely  made  these  obser 
vations  when  a  door  to  the  right  of  the  stairway 
opened.  In  a  cottage  it  would  have  led  to  the  din 
ing-room,  and  did  so,  as  I  discovered  later,  on  the 
Billowcrest.  A  tall,  solemn-looking  man  entered, 
and  I  rose,  half  extending  my  hand,  after  the  man 
ner  of  the  West. 

"  Mr.  Gale,"  I  said. 

The  solemn  man  waved  me  aside — somewhat  ner 
vously  it  seemed. 

"  No — I'm— that  is.  I'm  not  Mr.  Gale.  I'm  only 
the — his  steward,"  he  explained.  "  Mr.  Gale  is — er 
— somewhat  busy  just  now  and  would  like  to  know 
if  your  errand  is  im — that  is,  I  should  say,  a  per 
sonal  matter.  Perhaps  I — I  might  answer,  you 
know." 

My  heart  warmed  instantly  toward  this  sober- 
faced  man  with  thin  whitening  hair  and  nervous 
hesitation  of  manner.  I  was  about  to  tell  him  that 
I  only  wanted  to  go  over  the  yacht,  and  that  he 
would  do  admirably  when  I  thrilled  with  a  sudden 
impulse,  or  it  may  have  been  an  inspiration. 

"  Please  tell  Mr.  Gale,  "  I  said,  "  that  I  am  sorry 


24  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

to  disturb  him,  but  that  I  would  really  like  to  see 
him  personally.  I  will  not  detain  him." 

The  solemn  man  retired  hastily,  leaving  the  door 
slightly  ajar  behind  him.  I  heard  him  murmur 
something  within,  which  was  followed  by  a  rather 
quick,  hearty  response. 

"  All  right,  Bill.  Newspaper  man,  I  guess, — tell 
him  I'm  coming!  " 

The  tall  man  whose  name,  it  seemed,  and  inap 
propriately  enough,  was  Bill,  returned  with  this  an 
nouncement.  Close  behind  him  followed  a  stout, 
clear-eyed  man  of  perhaps  fifty.  A  man  evidently 
overflowing  with  nerve  force  and  energy,  apprecia 
tive  of  humor,  prompt  and  keen  in  his  estimate  of 
human  nature,  and  willing  to  back  his  judgments 
with  his  money.  Undismayed  and  merry  in  mis 
fortune,  joyous  and  magnanimous  in  prosperity, 
scrupulously  careful  of  his  credit,  and  picturesquely 
careless  of  his  speech — in  a  word,  Chauncey  Gale, 
real  estate  speculator,  self-made  capitalist  and 
American  Citizen. 

I  did  not,  of  course,  realize  all  of  these  things  on 
the  instant  of  our  meeting,  yet  I  cannot  refrain 
from  setting  them  down  now,  lest  in  the  reader's 
mind  there  should  exist  for  a  moment  a  misconcep 
tion  of  this  man  to  whom  I  owe  all  the  best  that  I 
can  ever  give. 

He  came  forward  and  took  my  hand  heartily. 


/  OVERHAUL  THE  BILLOWCREST.   25 

"  Set  down,"  he  commanded,  "  and  tell  us  all 
about  it.  " 

"  Mr.  Gale,"  I  began,  "  I  have  been  admiring 
your  yacht  from  the  outside,  and  I  came  on  board  to 
learn  more  about  her  purpose — how  you  came  to 
build  her,  what  you  intend  to  do  with  her,  her 
dimensions,  and  so  on." 

I  was  sparring  for  an  opening,  you  see,  and 
then  he  had  taken  me  for  a  reporter. 

"  What  paper  you  on?  " 

I  was  unprepared  for  this  and  it  came  near  being 
a  knockout.  I  rallied,  however,  to  the  truth. 

"  I'm  on  no  paper,  Mr.  Gale ;  I'm  a  man  with  a 
scheme." 

"  Good  enough !     What  is  it?  " 

"  To  go  to  the  South  Pole.  " 

We  both  laughed.  There  had  been  no  sugges 
tion  of  annoyance  or  even  brusqueness  in  Mr. 
Gale's  manner,  which  was  as  encouraging  as  possi 
ble,  and  as  buoyant.  But  half  unconsciously  I  had 
adopted  its  directness,  and  perhaps  this  pleased 
him. 

"  Say,  but  that's  a  cool  proposition,"  he  com 
mented.  "  We  might  get  snowed  up  on  that 
speculation,  don't  you  think  so?  " 

"  Well,  of  course  it  might  be  a  cold  day  before  we 
got  there,  but  when  we  did " 

Mr.  Gale  interrupted. 


26  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

"  Look  here,"  he  broke  in,  "  I'm  glad  you  ain't 
on  a  paper,  anyway.  I've  not  much  use  for  them, 
to  tell  the  truth.  I've  paid  'em  more'n  a  million 
dollars  for  advertising,  and  when  I  built  this  yacht 
they  all  turned  in  and  abused  me.  They  got  what 
they  thought  was  a  tip  from  some  sea-captain,  who 
said  she  wouldn't  steer,  or  float,  or  anything  else, 
and  that  I'd  never  get  out  of  the  harbor.  Well, 
she  floats  all  right,  doesn't  she?  " 

I  looked  properly  indignant  and  said  that  she  did. 

"  I've  been  around  the  world  twice  in  her,"  he 
continued,  "  me  and  my  daughter.  She  isn't  fast, 
that's  a  fact,  but  she's  fast  enough  for  us,  and  she 
suits  us  first-rate.  I  don't  know  whether  she'd  do 
to  go  to  the  South  Pole  in  or  not.  I'll  tell  you  how 
she's  built,  and  what  I  built  her  for,  and  you  can 
see  for  yourself." 

I  did  not  allow  myself  to  consider  Mr.  Gale's 
manner  or  remarks  as  in  the  slightest  degree  en 
couraging  to  my  plans.  The  fact  that  he  had  cut 
short  my  attempted  explanation  rather  indicated,  I 
thought,  that  this  part  of  our  interview  was  closed. 

"  I  built  her  myself,"  he  proceeded,  "  after  my 
own  ideas.  She's  a  good  deal  on  the  plan  of  a 
house  we  used  to  live  in  and  liked,  at  Hillcrest. 
My  daughter  grew  up  in  it.  Hillcrest  was  my  first 
addition,  and  the  Billowcrest  is  my  last.  I'm  a 
real-estate  man,  and  all  the  money  I  ever  made,  or 


/  0  VERHA  UL  THE  BILLO  WCREST.     27 

lost,  came  and  went  in  laying  out  additions.  I've 
laid  out  and  sold  fifty-three,  altogether.  Hillcrest, 
Stonycrest,  Mudcrest,  Dingleside,  Tangleside,  Jun- 
gleside,  Edgevvater,  Bilgewater,  Jerkwater  and  all 
the  other  Crests  and  Sides  and  Hursts  and  Waters 
and  Manors  you've  heard  of  for  the  past  twenty 
years.  I  was  the  first  man  that  ever  used  the  line, 
'  Quit  Paying  Rent  and  Buy  a  Home,'  and  more 
people  have  quit  paying  rent  and  bought  homes 
from  me  than  from  any  man  that  ever  took  space 
in  a  Sunday  paper.  My  daughter  is  a  sort  of  mis 
sionary.  She  makes  people  good  and  I  sell  'em 
homes  and  firesides.  Or  maybe  I  sell  'em  homes 
first  and  she  makes  'em  good  afterwards,  so  they'll 
keep  up  their  payments.  Whichever  way  it  is,  we've 
been  pretty  good  partners  for  about  twenty-five 
years,  and  when  the  land  and  spiritual  improvement 
business  got  overdone  around  here  I  built  this  boat 
so  we  could  take  comfort  in  her  together,  and 
maybe  find  some  place  in  the  world  where  people 
still  needed  homes  and  firesides,  and  missionary 
work.  She's  two  hundred  and  sixty  feet  long  and 
fifty  feet  in  the  beam,  twin  screw  and  carries  sixteen 
thousand  square  feet  of  calico  besides.  She's  wide, 
so  she'll  be  safe  and  comfortable,  and  I  built  her 
flat  so's  we  could  take  her  into  shallow  water  if  we 
wanted  to.  She's  as  stout  as  a  battle-ship  and  she's 
took  us  around  the  world  twice,  as  I  said.  We've 


28          THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

had  a  bully  time  in  her,  too,  but  so  far  we've  found 
no  place  in  this  old  world  where  they're  suffering 
for  homes  and  firesides  or  where  they  ain't  missiqn- 
aried  to  death.  Now,  what's  your  scheme?  " 

It  seemed  the  opportune  moment.  My  pulse 
quickened  and  stopped  as  I  leaned  forward  and  said : 

"It's  to  find  a  new  world!  " 

"At  the  South  Pole?" 

"  At  the  South  Pole." 

"  What's  the  matter  with  the  North?  " 

"  The  North  Pole  is  a  frozen  sea — a  desolation  of 
ice.  At  the  South  Pole  there  is  a  continent — I  be 
lieve  a  warm  one." 

"What  warmed  it?" 

'  The  oblation  of  the  earth,  which  brings  the  sur 
face  there  sufficiently  near  the  great  central  heat  to 
counteract  the  otherwise  low  temperature  resulting 
from  the  oblique  angle  of  the  direct  solar  rays." 

I  had  gone  over  this  so  often  that  in  my  eagerness 
I  suppose  I  parroted  it  off  like  a  phonograph.  Gale 
was  regarding  me  keenly — mystified  but  interested. 

"  Look  here,"  he  said.  "  I  believe  you're  in  ear 
nest.  Just  say  that  again,  please;  slow,  and  with 
out  any  frills,  this  time." 

I  was  ready  enough  to  simplify. 

"  Mr.  Gale,"  I  began,  "  you  are  aware,  perhaps, 
that  when  we  dig  down  into  the  earth  we  find  that  it 
becomes  rapidly  warmer  as  we  descend,  so  that  a 


I  OVERHAUL  THE  BILLOWCREST.     29 

heat  is  presently  reached  at  which  life  could  not 
exist,  and  from  this  it  has  been  argued  that  the  inner 
earth  is  a  mass  of  fire  surrounded  only  by  an  outer 
crust  of  some  fifty  miles  in  thickness.  We  also 
know  by  observation  and  experiment  that  the  di 
ameter  of  the  earth  between  the  poles  is  some 
twenty-six  miles  less  than  it  is  at  any  point  on  the 
equator.  This  is  known  as  the  earth's  oblation,  or, 
as  the  school-books  have  it,  the  flattening  of  the 
poles." 

I  paused  and  Gale  nodded ;  apparently  these 
things  were  not  entirely  unfamiliar  to  him.  I  pro 
ceeded  with  my  discourse. 

'  You  will  see,  therefore,  that  at  each  polar  axis 
the  earth's  surface  is  some  thirteen  miles  nearer  to 
this  great  central  heat  than  at  the  equator,  and  this 
I  believe  to  be  sufficient  to  produce  a  warmth  which 
prevents  the  great  ice-floes  of  the  Arctic  Sea  from 
solidifying  about  the  North  Pole;  while  at  the 
South,  where  there  is  a  continent  into  which  ice 
floes  cannot  be  forced.  T  am  convinced  that  there 
will  some  day  be  found  a  warm  habitable  country 
about  the  earth's  axis.  "Whoever  finds  it  will  gain 
immortality,  and  perhaps  wealth  beyond  his  wildest 
dreams." 

I  had  warmed  to  this  explanation  with  something 
of  the  old-time  enthusiasm,  and  I  could  see  that 
Gale  was  listening  closely.  It  may  have  appealed 


30  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

to  his  sense  of  humor,  or  perhaps  the  very  wildness 
of  the  speculation  attracted  him. 

"  Say,"  he  laughed,  as  I  finished,  "  the  world 
turning  on  its  axle  would  help  to  keep  it  warm  there, 
too,  wouldn't  it?  " 

T  joined  in  his  merriment.  The  humors  of  the 
enterprise  were  not  the  least  of  its  attractions. 

"  But  that  ti'oitld  be  a  bully  place  for  a  real-estate 
man,"  he  reflected.  "  First  on  the  ground  could 
have  it  all  his  own  way,  couldn't  he?  Build  and 
own  railroads  and  trolley  lines,  and  lay  out  the 
whole  country  in  additions.  Sunnybank,  Snowbank, 
Axis  Hill — look  here,  why  ain't  anybody  ever  been 
there  before?  " 

"  Because  nobody  has  ever  been  prepared  to  sur 
mount  the  almost  perpendicular  wall  that  surrounds 
it,  or  to  cross  the  frozen  zone  beyond.  The  ice- 
wall  is  anywhere  from  one  to  two  thousand  feet 
high.  I  have  a  plan  for  scaling  it  and  for  drifting 
over  the  frozen  belt  in  a  balloon  to  which,  instead 
of  a  car,  there  will  be  attached  a  sort  of  large  light 
boat  with  runners  on  it,  so  that  it  may  also  be  sailed 
or  drawn  on  the  surface,  if  necessary.  The  balloon 
idea  is  not,  of  course,  altogether  new,  except 

But  Gale  had  gone  off  into  another  roar  of  mer 
riment. 

"  Well,  if  this  ain't  the  coldest,  windiest  bluff  I 
ever  got  up  against,"  he  howled.  "  Think  of  going 


/  0  VERB  A  UL  THE  BILLO  WCREST.     3 1 

up  in  a  balloon  and  falling  off  of  an  ice-wall  two 
thousand  feet  high!  Oh,  Lord!  What  is  home 
without  a  door-knob!  " 

"  There  does  appear  to  be  an  element  of  humor 
in  some  phases  of  my  proposition,"  I  admitted, 
"  but  I  have  faith  in  it,  nevertheless,  and  am  quite 
sincere  in  my  belief  of  a  warm  Antarctic  world." 

"  Of  course  you  are.  If  you  hadn't  been  I 
wouldn't  'a'  let  you  talk  to  me  for  a  minute.  Let's 
hear  some  more  about  it.  Do  you  think  this  ship 
would  do  ?  When  do  you  want  to  start  ?  " 

<:  As  for  the  ship,"  I  hastened  to  say,  "  it  would 
almost  seem  that  she  had  been  built  for  the  purpose. 
With  her  splendid  sailing  rig,  her  coal  could  be 
economized,  and  used  only  when  absolutely  neces 
sary.  Her  light  draught  makes  it  possible  to  take 
her  into  almost  any  waters.  The  shape  of  her  hull 
and  her  strength  are  calculated  to  withstand  an  ice- 
squeeze,  and  her  capacity  is  such  that  enough  pro 
visions  in  condensed  forms  could  be  stored  away  in 
her  hold  to  last  for  an  almost  indefinite  length  of 
time.  As  for  starting " 

A  cloud  had  passed  over  Gale's  face  at  the  men 
tion  of  an  ice-squeeze,  but  now  he  was  laughing 
again. 

"  Condensed  food !  Oh,  by  the  great  Diamond 
Back,  but  that  will  hit  Bill!  That's  his  hobby. 
He's  invented  tablets  condensed  from  every  kind  of 


32  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

food  under  the  sun.  You  saw  Bill  awhile  ago. 
Used  to  be  my  right-hand  man  in  real  estate,  and 
is  now  my  steward,  from  choice.  Never  had  a 
profitable  idea  of  his  own,  but  honest  and  faithful 
as  a  town  clock.  What  he  calls  dietetics  is  his  long 
suit.  He  don't  try  many  of  his  experiments  on  us, 
but  he  does  on  himself;  that's  why  he  looks  like  a 
funeral.  Oh,  but  we  must  have  Bill  along — it'll 
suit  him  to  the  ground !  " 

He  touched  a  button  at  his  elbow. 

"  Food  tablets  might  prove  a  great  advantage," 
I  admitted,  "  especially  if  we  made  an  extended  trip 
in  the  balloon." 

"  Bill  can  make  'em  for  us  all  right.  Soup  tab 
lets,  meat  tablets,  bread  tablets — why,  you  can  put 
a  meat  tablet  between  two  bread  tablets  and  have 
a  sandwich,  and  carry  a  whole  table  d'hote  dinner 
in  a  pill-box.  Here,  boy,  tell  Mr.  Sturritt  to  step 
up  here,  if  he's  not  busy.  Tell  him  I've  got  impor 
tant  news  for  him." 

Clearly  it  was  but  a  huge  joke  to  Mr.  Gale.  I 
was  willing  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  it,  however. 
He  turned  to  me  as  the  boy  disappeared. 

"  Of  course,  we  can't  expect  to  find  anybody 
living  there." 

"  Why  not  ?  Nature  never  yet  left  a  habitable 
country  unoccupied.  We  shall  undoubtedly  find  a 
race  of  people  there — perhaps  a  very  fine  one." 


/  OVERHAUL  THE  BILLOWCREST.     33 

He  regarded  me  incredulously  a  moment,  and 
then  thumped  the  desk  at  his  side  vigorously. 

"  That  settles  it !  Johnnie's  missionary  work's 
cut  out  for  her.  It's  a  great  combination,  and  we 
can't  lose!  Balloons,  tablets,  missionary  work,  and 
homes  and  firesides !  A  regular  four-time  winner!  " 

He  was  about  to  touch  the  bell  again  when  there 
came  a  light  tap  at  the  door  near  me,  and  a  woman's 
voice  said : 

"  Mayn't  I  have  some  of  the  fun,  too,  Daddy?  " 

My  spirits  sank  the  least  bit.  The  mental  image 
I  had  formed  of  Miss  Gale,  the  missionary,  was  not 
altogether  pleasing,  while  her  advent  was  likely  to 
put  a  speedy  end  to  any  thread  of  hope  I  may  have 
picked  up  during  my  rather  hilarious  interview 
with  her  father.  Gale,  meanwhile,  had  risen  hastily 
to  admit  her,  and  I  had  involuntarily  turned.  It 
is  true  the  voice  had  been  not  unmusical,  but  cer 
tainly  I  was  wholly  unprepared  for  the  picture  in 
the  doorway.  Tall,  lithe  and  splendid  she  stood 
there — the  perfect  type  of  America's  ideal  woman 
hood. 

Gale  greeted  her  eagerly. 

"  Of  course  you  can  hear  it — I  was  just  going 
to  send  for  you.  Johnnie,  here's  a  young  man  that's 
going  to  take  us  to  the  South  Pole  to  convert  the 
heathen  there,  and  provide  'em  with  homes  and  fire 
sides.  Mr.  ,"  he  glanced  at  my  card,  which 

3 


34          THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

he  had  kept  in  his  hand  all  this  time — "  Mr. 
Nicholas  Chase,  my  daughter,  Miss  Edith  Gale, 
sometimes,  by  her  daddy,  called  Johnnie,  for 
short." 

Miss  Gale  held  out  her  hand  cordially.  I  took  it 
with  no  feeling  of  hesitation  that  I  can  now  recall. 
And  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  would  be  willing  to  go 
right  on  holding  a  hand  like  that  and  let  the  South 
Pole  discover  itself,  or  remain  lost  through  all 
eternity. 

"  I  have  been  telling  Mr.  Chase,"  Chauncey  Gale 
began,  when  we  were  seated,  "  of  our  missionary- 
real-estate  combine;  how  I  provide  outcast  human 
ity  with  homes  and  firesides  in  this  world,  and  how 
you  look  out  for  a  home  without  too  much  fireside 
in  it  in  the  next;  and  how  all  the  territory  in  this 
world  seems  to  be  pretty  well  covered  in  our  line. 
Now  he's  found  for  us,  or  is  going  to  find,  he  says, 
a  new  world  where  we  can  do  business  on  a  big 
scale.  Is  that  correct,  Mr.  Chase?" 

I  looked  at  Miss  Gale,  upon  whose  face  there  was 
an  expression,  half-aggrieved,  half-mystified.  For 
one  thing,  it  was  evident  that,  like  myself,  she  could 
not  be  quite  certain  whether  her  father  was  alto 
gether,  or  only  partly,  in  jest.  She  beamed  gra 
ciously  on  me,  however,  which  was  enough. 

"Why,  how  fine  that  is,"  she  assented.  "We 
have  been  wishing  for  some  new  thing  to  do,  and 


/  0  VERHA  UL  THE  BILLO IVCREST.     35 

some  new  where  to  go,  but  we  never  dreamed  of  a 
new  world.  If  you  can  take  us  to  one  we  will  re 
ward  you — even  to  the  half  of  our  kingdom." 

"  Poor  trade,"  said  Gale.  "  Whole  world  for 
half  a  kingdom.  Try  again." 

"  Oh,  well,  he  shall  have  " — she  hesitated,  seek 
ing  a  way  out,  then  in  frank  confusion — "  he  shall 
name  his  reward,  as  they  do  in  the  story-books." 

I  joined  in  the  laugh.  But  my  heart  had  grown 
strangely  warm,  and  my  pulses  were  set  to  a  new 
measure.  I  had  never  fully  believed  in  love  at  first 
sight  till  that  moment. 

"  Tell  us  your  scheme  again,  Chase,"  commanded 
Gale. 

The  familiar  form  of  his  address  stimulated  me. 
I  felt  that  I  had  known  this  robust  man  since  the 
beginning  of  all  things. 

"  Wait,"  he  interrupted,  "  here  comes  Bill — he 
must  hear  it,  too.  Mr.  Chase,  I  present  you  to  His 
Royal  Tablets,  Mr.  William  Sturritt,  caterer  extra 
ordinary  to  the  Great  Billowcrest  Expedition  for 
the  discovery  and  development  of  the  warm  Antarc 
tic  World.  Bill,  old  man,  your  tablets  are  going  to 
have  their  innings  at  last.  Mr.  Chase  is  just  go 
ing  to  tell  us  how  to  climb  a  two  thousand  foot  ice- 
wall  in  a  balloon." 

I  shook  hands  heartily  with  the  thin,  solemn  man, 
who  made  an  anxious  attempt  to  smile  and  seated 


36  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY, 

himself  rather  insecurely  on  the  edge  of  a  chair. 
Then  I  began  as  gravely  as  possible,  and  reviewed 
once  more  my  theories  and  purpose,  adding  now  the 
brief  but  important  bits  of  evidence  concerning  tem 
peratures  and  currents,  supplied  by  recent  explorers. 
The  warm  northerly  current  reported  by  Borch- 
grevink  I  dwelt  upon,  and  suggested  that  by  fol 
lowing  it  a  vessel  might  meet  with  less  formidable 
obstructions  in  the  way  of  field  ice,  and  perhaps 
reach  the  ice  barrier  at  no  great  distance  from  the 
habitable  circle  beyond.  It  even  might  be  possible, 
I  said,  to  follow  this  current  directly  to  the  interior 
continent,  though  this  I  considered  doubtful,  believ 
ing  rather  that  it  would  flow  out  from  amid  fierce 
and  shifting  obstructions  that  would  make  naviga 
tion  impracticable. 

I  then  reviewed  my  plan  for  scaling  the  ice  bar 
rier  and  crossing  the  frozen  strip  by  the  aid  of  a 
balloon,  to  which  would  be  attached  the  light  boat- 
shaped  car  before  mentioned.  This  car,  I  said, 
might  be  constructed  to  hold  four,  possibly  six,  men. 
In  it  could  be  stored  light  instruments  for  photog 
raphy,  observation,  etc.  Also  such  furs  and  cloth 
ing  as  would  be  needed,  and  a  considerable  supply 
of  food  in  condensed  forms. 

During  this  recital  I  had  been  interrupted  by 
scarcely  a  word.  Once,  when  I  mentioned  the  ice- 
•wall,  Gale  had  put  his  hands  together  and  mur- 


/  0 VERHA UL  THE  BILLOWCREST.     37 

mured  to  himself,  "  Oh,  Lord,  two  thousand  feet 
high — now  I  lay  me !"  But  for  the  rest  of  the  time 
he  was  quite  silent  and  attentive,  as  were  both  of 
the  others.  Miss  Gale  (and  it  was  to  her  that  I 
talked),  Edith  Gale  listened  without  speaking,  move 
less,  her  eyes  looking  straight  into  mine,  but  far  be 
yond  me,  to  the  land  of  which  I  spoke — a  land  of 
fancy — the  country  of  my  dreams,  now  becoming 
hers.  Gale  turned  to  Mr.  Sturritt  as  I  finished. 
The  meager  face  of  the  latter  was  flushed  and  ani 
mated.  Credulous,  visionary  and  eager,  the  dream 
had  become  his,  too.  It  seemed  to  me  that  there 
was  a  quality  of  tenderness  in  Gale's  voice  as  he 
addressed  him. 

"  Well,  Bill,"  he  said,  "  what  do  you  think  of  it? 
Chance  of  your  life,  ain't  it?  Think  of  provision 
ing  a  voyage  to  the  South  Pole.  Why,  you  can 
fairly  wallow  in  tablets !  " 

Mr.  Sturritt  shifted  a  bit  in  his  chair. 

"  I  think  it  the  most  wond — the  most  marvelous 
undertaking  of  the  century,"  he  said  eagerly,  "  and 
the  most  plans — er — that  is,  the  most  logical.  For 
my  own  part  in  it,  I  may  say  to  Mr.  Race — that 
is,  Chase,  that  I  have  perfected  a  sort  of  system  of 
food  tab — I  should  say  lozenges,  that  might,  I  be 
lieve,  be  found  advantageous  in  supplying  the  bal 
loon  with  food — that  is — er — I  mean  the  people  in 
the  balloon,  where  space  and  lightness  would  be 


38  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

considerations.  They  are,  I  think  I  may  say  with 
out  claiming — taking  credit,  that  is,  for  the  entire 
originality  of  the  idea — more  nutritious  and — er — 
more  wholesome  than  any  other  food  lozenge  I  have 
seen,  besides  being  less  bulk — er — I  should  say — 
more  compact  in  form,  and  not  so  hard  to — to — I 
mean,  in  fact  quite  easy " 

"  Not  so  hard  to  take,"  put  in  Gale.  "  That's 
right,  Bill,  they're  not  bad  at  all — I've  tried  'em. 
I  threw  a  fit  afterwards,  but  that  wasn't  your  fault 
— I  didn't  take  'em  right." 

"  Papa  insisted  on  eating  all  the  dessert  tablets, 
because  they  were  pink  and  flavored  with  winter- 
green,  and  they  made  him  ill,"  commented  Miss 
Gale,  who  seemed  to  waken  from  her  reverie. 

"  They  should  be  taken — er — used,  I  mean,  ac 
cording  to  direc — that  is — in  proper  sequence," 
explained  Mr.  Sturritt.  "  White,  followed  by  blue 
and  red,  in  order  to  work  well — to  secure  hygienic 
results,  I  should  say.  The  white  contains  the  gently 
stimulating  nutriment  of  meat  and  bivalve  juices, 
and  is — er — the  soup  course,  so  to  speak.  The  blue 
contains  the  solids  required  to  supply  strength,  while 
the  pink  or  rose  wafer  combines  the  essence  of 
creams,  fruits  and  nuts — the  delicacies,  as  it  were, 
of  food  diet.  White,  blue  and  red  is  the  proper 
combi — er — that  is — sequence,  and  I  shall  soon  have 
other  varieties." 


/  OVERHAUL  THE  BILLOWCREST.     39 

"  I  thought  they  ought  to  go  red,  white  and  blue," 
said  Gale,  "  like  the  colors  in  the  flag.  But,  see 
here,  Johnnie,  what  do  you  think  of  Mr.  Chase's 
scheme,  anyway?  Ain't  it  a  bully  chance  for  open 
ing  our  business  on  a  big  scale?  " 

"  Please  don't,  Daddy,"  protested  Miss  Gale. 
"  Mr.  Chase  must  have  a  very  unfair  opinion  of  us 
from  what  you  have  told  him.  He  must  stay  to 
luncheon,  and  learn  to  know  us  better." 

At  this  point  Mr.  Sturritt  rose  and  excused  him 
self. 

"  I  am  not  really  a  missionary,  you  know,"  Edith 
Gale  continued.  "  In  fact  not  at  all.  I  have  just  a 
little  hobby — a  very  little  one — of  helping  people  to 
better  ideals  through  a  truer  appreciation  of  the 
beautiful  in  nature."  She  said  this  quite  unaffect 
edly — much  as  a  child  would  explain  a  little  game  of 
its  own.  I  nodded  eagerly  and  she  proceeded. 

"  It  has  always  seemed  to  me  that  the  people  who 
see  only  firewood  in  trees,  weather-signs  in  skies, 
and  water-supply  in  rivers,  miss  a  good  deal  of  what 
is  best  in  this  world,  and  are  perhaps  not  so  well 
prepared  for  what  they  find  in  the  next.  And  some 
times  even  those  who  care  in  a  way  for  the  beauties 
of  the  earth  and  sky  miss  a  good  deal  of  them,  or 
care  not  in  the  best  way.  Sometimes  they  cut  their 
trees  into  queer  shapes,  or  chop  away  all  the  pretty 
tangle  of  foliage  from  a  river  bank,  or  lay  out  their 


40  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

gardens  with  a  square  and  compass.  I  sketch  and 
paint  a  little,  and  now  and  then  I  try  to  make  people 
realize  the  beauty  as  well  as  the  usefulness  of  nature, 
and  that  it's  a  waste  of  time  to  do  all  those  artificial 
things  to  it.  It  is  quite  simple  to  explain  with  pic 
tures,  you  know,  like  an  object  lesson,  and  I  show 
them  that  star-shaped  flower-beds,  and  bare  river 
banks,  and  ornamentally  trimmed  trees  do  not  make 
as  pretty  pictures  as  they  would  the  other  way,  and 
then  sometimes  I  go  further  and  say  that  maybe 
children,  and  grown  folks,  too,  would  be  better  and 
less  artificial  themselves  if  they  were  taught  to  care 
less  for  nature  in  its  unnatural  forms,  and  more  as 
God  made  it.  Your  dream  of  an  Antarctic  world 
and  an  undiscovered  race  is  very  fascinating  to  me. 
I,  also,  have  long  had  a  dream  of  finding  such  a 
people,  though  it  is  far  more  likely  that  I  should 
go  to  them  to  learn  than  to  teach." 

Chauncey  Gale  had  been  watching  her  admiringly 
while  she  spoke.  As  for  myself,  if  there  had  been 
one  thing  needed  to  complete  my  conversion,  it  was 
this  revelation  of  her  gentle  doctrines.  Gale,  how 
ever,  could  not  be  long  repressed. 

"  You've  no  idea  how  that  sort  of  thing  takes 
with  commuters,"  he  said  reverentially.  "  It's  sold 
more  additions  for  me  than  all  my  advertising  put 
together." 

"  Oh,  Daddy,  how  can  you  1 " 


/  OVERHAUL  THE  BILLOWCREST.     41 

"  Look  at  that  air  of  innocence,"  said  Gale,  "  it 
would  deceive  the  oldest  man  living.  You  know 
very  well,  Johnnie,  that  the  Bilgewater  lots  would 
never  have  moved  in  the  world  if  you  hadn't  gone 
out  there  and  got  those  people  all  crazy  on  art  values. 
Why,  the  art  value  of  every  lot  in  Bilgewater 
doubled  in  ten  days,  and  they  went  off  like  chromos 
at  a  picture  auction." 

"  Papa !  "  said  Miss  Gale  severely,  "  I  went  to 
Bridgewater,  or  Bilgewater,  as  you  persist  in 
calling  it,  and  showed  the  people  my  pictures  out 
there,  because  I  was  invited  to  do  so,  and  because  I 
saw  by  their  lawns  and  gardens  that  they  needed 
me.  I  had  no  thought  of  the  material  value  and  sale 
of  your  old  lots,  I  can  assure  you,  and  I  don't  believe 
my  going  made  a  particle  of  difference.  If  I  had 
thought  it  possible,  I  shouldn't  have  gone." 

It  was  evident  that  Gale's  fond  pride  in  his  daugh 
ter  grew  with  every  sentence. 

"  She'd  deceive  anybody  in  the  world,  except  her 
old  Daddy,"  he  persisted.  "  Get  your  pictures, 
Johnnie,  and  let  Mr.  Chase  see  them." 

I  hastened  to  assure  Miss  Gale  that  I  should  con 
sider  it  a  privilege  to  look  at  her  work,  and  she  rose, 
leaving  me  with  her  father,  whose  eyes  followed  her 
proudly.  For  myself,  I  was  in  a  decidedly  miscel 
laneous  condition,  mentally.  I  could  not  permit 
myself  even  to  hope  that  Gale  really  intended  to  un- 


42  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

dertake  the  expedition  I  had  proposed.  Yet  there 
had  been  something  about  it  all  that  suggested  a  sin 
cere  interest  in  my  plans,  in  spite  of  the  fact  of  his 
rather  boisterous  and  perhaps  undue  tendency  to 
levity.  It  seemed  to  me  that  his  daughter,  and  his 
old-time  associate,  Sturritt,  had  taken  him  seriously, 
and  they  must  know  his  moods  better  than  I.  At 
most  I  would  not  allow  myself  to  do  more  than 
hope.  I  had  waited  so  long — I  could  restrain  the 
frenzy  of  joy  in  me  a  little  longer.  One  thing  was 
assured.  I  was  to  sit  at  luncheon  with  Edith  Gale, 
and  even  should  there  be  no  voyage  to  the  South,  I 
might  hope  to  see  her  again,  when  from  time  to 
time  I  could  make  the  excuse  of  coming  to  her  father 
with  new  sources  of  amusement.  I  reflected  that  I 
would  invent  the  most  absurd  propositions  that  hu 
man  ingenuity  could  devise,  for  Chauncey  Gale  to 
play  with,  if  he  only  would  let  his  daughter  take 
part  in  the  merry  pastime. 

Gale,  meantime,  had  turned  to  me,  and  was  about 
to  speak  when  Miss  Gale  entered.  She  was  accom 
panied  by  a  stout,  resolute-looking  colored  woman, 
bearing  a  large  portfolio. 

"  Put  it  right  down  on  the  rug,  Zar,  against  the 
chair,  so." 

Miss  Gale  herself  adjusted  the  heavy  book,  then 
seated  herself  comfortably  on  the  floor  beside  it. 
The  servant  withdrew.  Gale  slid  over  to  a  low 


I  OVERHAUL  THE  BILLOWCREST.     43 

stool,  and,  half  unconsciously,  I  slipped  from  my 
chair  to  a  position  on  the  floor  between  them.  We 
were  like  a  group  of  children  around  a  toy  book. 

The  cover  of  the  portfolio  was  turned  back  and 
the  first  picture,  a  bit  of  landscape  in  water  color, 
was  shown.  I  had  no  great  technical  knowledge  of 
art.  but  I  could  see  at  a  glance  that  Miss  Gale's  work 
was  of  unusual  quality.  The  admiration,  at  first 
expressed  in  words,  soon  became  the  silence  of  un 
questioned  tribute.  Yet  I  was  not  surprised  that 
Edith  Gale  should  do  this  masterly  work.  What 
did  surprise  me  was  the  genuine  appreciation  of  her 
father,  as  shown  by  his  occasional  comment.  Evi 
dently  the  daughter's  ability  had  not  been  wholly 
due  to  the  dead  mother.  At  the  end  of  the  port 
folio  there  was  a  series  of  illustrations  for  an  old 
Yorkshire  ballad. 

"  Daddy  and  I  always  sing  this  when  folks  will 
let  us,"  announced  Miss  Gale,  with  an  affected  diffi 
dence  that  made  her  all  the  more  beautiful,  I 
thought. 

"  You  can't  get  away  now  till  after  lunch,  Chase," 
said  Gale;  "  you've  got  to  stand  it." 

Edith  Gale  had  set  the  first  of  the  series  up  before 
us,  and  sang  the  opening  lines  of  the  ballad  in  a 
voice  that  might  have  come  from  the  middle  strings 
of  a  harp.  Then,  at  the  refrain,  there  joined  in  a 
deep,  rich  resonance  that  I  could  hardly  realize  pro- 


44          THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

ceeded  from  her  father.  I  came  in  at  the  end  of 
the  second  stanza — feebly  at  first,  but  gaining  in 
courage  until  I  sang  with  volume  enough  to  have 
spoiled  everything  had  I  not  been  more  fortunate 
than  usual  and  kept  to  the  right  key. 

"Well,"  said  Gale,  "what  do  you  think?  Do 
you  think  those  pictures  and  that  singing  of  hers 
will  convert  the  heathen?  " 

I  looked  at  the  wonderful  girl,  who  was  laughing 
and  closing  the  portfolio. 

"  They  would  convert  me,"  I  said  fervently,  "  to 
anything." 

Gale  seemed  to  enjoy  this  enthusiasm. 

"  People  mostly  like  us  when  they  know  us,  eh, 
Johnnie?  ' 

But  Miss  Gale  was  retiring  with  the  portfolio. 
He  turned  to  me. 

"  That's  a  great  girl,"  he  said.  "  The  only  piece 
of  property  but  one  that  I  never  wanted  to  part  with. 
The  other  one  was  her  mother.  Johnnie  came  just 
in  time  to  take  her  place,  and  I  don't  know  what 
I'd'  a'  done  if  she  hadn't.  Being  a  mother  to  her 
kept  me  busy,  and  she's  been  mother  and  father 
and  whole  family  to  me.  She's  kept  me  going 
straight  for  about  twenty-five  years  now,  and  is 
about  the  finest  south-slope  blue-grass  addition  that 
the  Lord  ever  helped  lay  out.  And  she  cares  more 
for  her  old  daddy  than  for  anybody  else  in  the  world. 


/  0 VERHA  UL  THE  BILLO  WCREST.     45 

Her  old  daddy  and  her  pictures.  She  never  saw  a 
young  man  that  she  cared  to  look  at  twice,  unless  he 
could  do  something,  and  then  it  was  for  his  talents, 
and  not  for  him.  When  they  fall  in  love  with  her 
she  generally  gets  tired  of  their  paintings,  or  their 
music,  or  whatever  it  is,  and  they  go  away.  They 
all  seem  to  do  it,  though.  You'd  be  in  love  with  her 
yourself  in  a  week,  if  you  lingered  about  this  ship. 
It's  in  the  air,  and  everybody  gets  it.  I  wouldn't 
say  much  about  it.  though,  if  it  was  me.  If  we 
should  go  to  the  South  Pole,  you'd  want  to  stay 
with  the  expedition,  and  after  we  got  out  to  sea 
you'd  have  some  trouble  getting  ashore  again  in  case 
you  didn't  find  the  ship  comfortable.  There's  an 
other  young  man  that  comes  here.  He's  got  a 
scheme  for ' 

But  Miss  Gale  re-entered  at  that  moment.  She 
had  made  some  slight  changes  in  her  toilet,  and  was 
more  entrancing  than  ever.  Her  father  had  been 
right.  I  thought,  only  he  had  named  too  long  a 
period.  He  had  said  "  in  a  week."  His  prophecy 
was  already  fulfilled. 

"  I  say,  Johnnie."  greeted  Gale,  "  why  wouldn't 
our  wireless  telegraphy  scheme  go  well  with  this 
expedition,  especially  with  the  balloon  part?  How 
about  that,  Chase?  Would  it  fit  in?" 

"  Perfectly,  but  Marconi  seems  to  have  it  all  in 
his  own  hands,  as  yet." 


46  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

"  Not  by  a  jug-full !  Johnnie's  got  a  young  man, 
I  was  just  going  to  mention  him  when  she  came  in, 
a  sort  of  portigee " 

"  Protege  Papa!  Though  he's  not  that,  either. 
He's- 

"  Oh,  well,  protyshay,  then.  Anyway,  he's  got 
a  system  that  beats  Macarony's  to  death.  I  call  this 
chap  Macarony.  too,  because  he's  Italian,  and  his 
name  is  a  good  deal  the  same." 

"  His  name  is  Ferratoni,  Papa,  and  the  other 
isn't  Macaroni,  either,  but  Marconi.  Papa  never 
calls  anything  by  its  right  name,  if  he  can  help  it," 
she  apologized.  "  He  gets  into  dreadful  trouble 
sometimes,  too,  and  I'm  glad  of  it.  He  should  be 
more  particular." 

"All  right,  then,  it's  Ferry — Ferry  what?  How 
is  it  again,  Johnnie?  " 

"  Fer-ra-toni." 

"  Now  we've  got  it.  Oh,  well,  let's  compromise 
and  call  him  Tony,  for  short.  Well,  Tony's  got  a 
system  that  does  all  that  Macarony's  does,  and  goes 
it  one  better.  Obstructions  in  the  way  don't  seem 
to  make  much  difference,  and  you  can  use  it  with  a 
telephone  attachment  instead  of  a — a  what  do  you 
call  it — a  knocker?  " 

"  A  sounder,  Daddy." 

"  A  sounder,  that's  it,  instead  of  a  sounder.  We 
tried  it  here  the  other  day,  and  could  talk  to  him 


/  0  VERHA  UL  THE  BILLO IVCREST.     47 

over  in  the  Tract  building  as  well  as  if  we'd  been 
connected  with  the  central  office.  He's  perfecting 
it  now  for  long  distance,  and  we  might  take  him 
right  along  with  us,  and  let  him  experiment  between 
the  balloon  and  the  ship.  How's  that?  " 

"  It  would  complete  our  plans  perfectly,"  I  agreed, 
"  if  his  system  of  communication  prove  successful. 
But  do  you  think  he  would  care  to  go  on  such  a  voy 
age?" 

Gale  looked  at  his  daughter. 

"  Do  you  think  he  would  go,  Johnnie?  "  he  asked, 
and  I  thought  there  was  a  suggestion  of  teasing  in 
his  voice.  Also,  it  seemed  to  me  that  there  was  a 
little  wave  of  confusion  in  Miss  Gale's  face,  though 
the  slight  added  color  there  may  have  been  due  to 
other  causes. 

"  I — why,  I  think  he  might "  she  began  hesi 
tatingly.  "  I  think  he  would  consider  it  an  oppor 
tunity.  He  is  deeply  interested  in  what  he  calls 
chorded  vibrations.  Wireless  telegraphy,  or  tele 
phoning,  is  like  that,  you  know,  but  Mr.  Ferratoni 
goes  much  farther.  He  attributes  everything  to 
vibrations.  He  analyzes  my  poor  little  hobby  until 
there's  nothing  left  of  it.  He  may  be  here  to  lunch 
eon  to-day,  and  you  can  talk  with  him,"  she  added, 
and  I  thought  the  blush  deepened. 

Assuredly  he  would  come  to  luncheon,  and  of  a 
certainty  he  would  go  to  the  South  Pole,  or  any- 


48          THE  GREA  T  WHITE  WA  Y. 

where  that  Edith  Gale  went,  and  would  let  him 
go.  It  was  too  late  now,  however,  for  me  to  raise 
objections.  My  only  comfort  lay  in  the  memory  of 
her  father's  assurance  that  it  was  in  their  talents, 
and  not  in  her  proteges  themselves,  that  his  daugh 
ter  was  interested. 

Still,  I  argued  miserably,  there  must  some  day 
come  a  time — I  was  sure  she  had  blushed 

A  cabin  boy  entered  bearing  a  tray  on  which  there 
was  a  card.  He  presented  it  to  Miss  Gale. 

"  Mr.  Ferratoni,"  she  said,  glancing  at  it,  and  an 
instant  later  I  saw  in  the  doorway  a  slender  figure, 
surmounted  by  a  beautiful  beardless  face — the  face 
of  southern  Italy — of  a  poet. 

My  heart  sank,  but  I  greeted  him  cordially,  for  I 
could  not  withstand  the  beauty  of  his  face  and  the 
magnetism  of  his  glance.  It  seemed  to  me  that  it 
was  a  foregone  conclusion,  so  far  as  Miss  Gale  was 
concerned,  and  then  I  suddenly  realized  that  the 
South  Pole  without  Edith  Gale  would  not  be  worth 
looking  for.  Even  a  whole  warm  Antarctic  conti 
nent  would  be  a  desolation  more  bleak  than  people 
had  ever  believed  it.  Yet  I  would  find  it  for  her  if 
I  could — and  then  my  reward — she  had  said  I 
should  name  it — it  had  been  but  a  jest,  of  course — 

I  realized  that  Miss  Gale  was  speaking. 

"  We  were  just  talking  of  you,  Mr.  Ferratoni. 
We  have  a  plan  which  we  think  will  interest  you. 
Mr.  Chase  will  talk  to  us  about  it  during  luncheon." 


VI. 

WHERE  ALL  THINGS  BECOME  POSSIBLE. 

WE  passed  out  into  the  dining  saloon — a  counter 
part,  I  learned  later,  of  the  dining-room  in  Mr. 
Gale's  former  cottage  at  Hillcrest.  We  were  pres 
ently  joined  by  a  stout  and  grizzled  man  of  perhaps 
sixty,  with  a  slight  sinister  obliquity  in  one  eye, 
He  was  arrayed  in  a  handsome  blue  uniform,  and 
was  presented  to  me  as  Mr.  Joseph  Biffer,  captain  of 
the  Billowcrest.  I  was  pleasantly  surprised  to  see 
that  Mr.  Sturritt  was  also  to  be  with  us.  The  cus 
toms  on  the  Billowcrest,  as  I  presently  learned,  were 
quite  democratic,  and  William  Sturritt,  though 
nominally  steward,  remained  the  trusted  friend  and 
companion  of  Chauncey  Gale,  as  he  had  been  for 
many  years.  It  is  true  there  was  an  officers'  mess,  at 
which  both  Mr.  Sturritt  and  Captain  Biffer  usually 
preferred  to  dine,  but  at  the  Admiral's  table  (they 
had  conferred  the  title  of  Admiral  on  Gale)  there 
was  always  a  welcome  for  his  officers,  while  on 
occasions  such  as  this  they  were  often  present  by 
request.  Gale  and  his  daughter  were  seated  at  op- 
4  49 


So  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

posite  ends  of  the  table,  Ferratoni  and  myself  next 
Miss  Gale,  while  Captain  Biffer  and  Mr.  Sturritt 
occupied  the  same  relative  position  to  the  Admiral. 

The  Admiral  wasted  no  time  in  coming  to  the 
fun. 

"  Captain  Biffer,"  he  said,  "  we  want  you  to  take 
us  to  the  South  Pole/' 

Mr.  Biffer  continued  the  grim  process  of  season 
ing  his  soup  for  several  seconds  without  replying. 
Perhaps  some  rumor  of  the  expedition  had  already 
come  to  him.  Then  he  fixed  his  sound  eye  severely 
on  Gale,  while  he  withered  the  rest  of  us,  and  par 
ticularly  myself,  with  the  other. 

"  When  do  you  want  to  start?  "  he  asked. 

There  was  that  about  Mr.  Biffer's  tone  and  atti 
tude  which  indicated,  so  far  as  he  was  concerned,  an 
entire  lack  of  humor  in  the  proposition.  Even  Gale, 
I  thought,  seemed  a  trifle  subdued  as  he  answered : 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know;  we'll  consider  that  after  Mr. 
Chase  has  told  us  what  we  are  going  to  need  to  be 
ready.  In  three  or  four  months,  perhaps." 

Once  more  the  deflected  vision  of  Captain  Biffer 
laid  its  scorn  heavily  upon  us. 

"  And  get  down  there  and  stuck  in  the  ice  below 
Cape  Horn  about  the  middle  of  March,  just  when 
their  winter  and  six  months'  night  begins." 

It  was  a  clean  hit  for  the  Captain,  and  I  gave  him 
credit.  Gale  was  clearlv  out  of  it  for  the  time  be- 


ALL  THINGS  BECOME  POSSIBLE.      51 

ing,  and  looked  at  me  helplessly.  His  very  dismay, 
however,  encouraged  me.  A  man  must  be  in  ear 
nest,  I  thought,  to  look  like  that.  I  hastened  to  his 
rescue. 

"  I  have  naturally  considered  the  Antarctic  solar 
conditions,"  I  said,  with  some  dignity,  though  I 
confess  that  with  the  Captain's  piercing  search 
light  upon  me,  the  latter  was  not  easy  to  maintain. 
"  I  am  aware  that  their  seasons  are  opposed  to  ours, 
and  that  the  year  at  the  poles  is  divided  into  a  day 
and  a  night  of  six  months  each." 

Gale,  who  had  been  regarding  me  anxiously,  at 
this  point  relieved  himself  in  an  undertone. 

"  Six  months,"  he  murmured.  "  Think  of  going 
out  to  make  a  night  of  it  in  a  country  like  that !  Oh, 
Lord,  what  is  life  without  a  latch-key?  " 

"  I  have  considered  these  facts,"  I  repeated, 
"  and  while  a  period  of  several  months  of  semi- 
darkness  and  cold  is  not  a  cheering  anticipation  to 
those  accustomed  to  the  more  frequent  recurrence 
of  sunlight,  I  am  convinced  that,  under  favorable 
conditions,  it  is  not  altogether  a  hardship;  also, 
that  in  the  pleasant  climate  which  I  believe  exists 
about  the  earth's  axis,  the  extended  interval  of 
darkness  and  semi-twilight  would  be  still  less  dis 
turbing,  and  may  have  been  overcome  in  a  measure, 
or  altogether,  by  the  inhabitants  there,  through 
artificial  means." 


52          THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

I  could  see  that  Chauncey  Gale  was  reviving- 
somewhat  as  I  proceeded,  and  this  gave  me  courage 
to  continue,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  Captain's 
contempt  was  only  too  manifest.  As  for  Mr.  Stur- 
ritt,  he  was  non-committal,  while  Ferratoni  appeared 
to  have  drifted  off  into  a  dream  of  his  own.  But 
Edith  Gale  sustained  me  with  the  unshaken  confi 
dence  in  her  eyes,  and  my  strength  became  as  the 
strength  of  ten. 

"  As  for  the  time  of  starting,"  I  continued 

"  Wait,"  interrupted  Gale,  "  go  over  the  whole 
scheme  again  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  didn't 
hear  it  before.  Then  we  can  consider  ways  and 
means  afterwards." 

Accordingly,  and  for  the  third  time  that  day, 
I  carefully  reviewed  my  theories  and  plans  for  the 
expedition.  As  I  proceeded  I  observed  that  Captain 
Biffer's  contempt  softened  into  something  akin  to 
pity,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  Chauncey  Gale  rap 
idly  regained  his  buoyant  confidence. 

"  That's  where  you  come  in,  Bill."  he  laughed, 
as  I  spoke  of  the  balloon  car  and  its  condensed 
stores. 

Mr.  Sturritt  nodded  eagerly. 

"  And  you,  Johnnie,"  as  I  referred  again  to  the 
possible  inhabitants  in  the  undiscovered  world. 

"  And  Mr.  Ferratoni  is  not  to  be  left  out,"  an 
swered  Miss  Gale.  "  Mr.  Chase  says  that  a  wire- 


ALL  THINGS  BECOME  POSSIBLE.     53 

less  telephone  is  the  one  thing  needed  to  make  his 
plan  perfect." 

;<  To  keep  the  balloon  in  communication  with  the 
ship,  in  event  of  our  making  the  voyage  overland 
would  be  of  the  greatest  advantage,"  I  admitted, 
"  if  it  can  be  done." 

Ferratoni's  face  flushed. 

"  Yes,  oh,  yes,"  he  said  anxiously,  "  it  can  be 
done.  It  is  the  chance." 

"  And  would  you  be  willing  to  go  on  a  voyage 
like  that,  and  leave  behind  your  opportunities  of 
recognition  and  fortune?  "  I  asked. 

Ferratoni's  face  grew  even  more  beautiful. 

"  Fortune?  Recognition?  "  He  spoke  musically, 
and  his  English  was  almost  perfect.  "  It  is  not 
those  that  I  would  care  for.  It  is  the  pursuing  of 
the  truth,  the  great  Truth!  Electricity — it  is  but 
one  vibration.  There  are  yet  many  others — 
thought,  life,  soul!  Wireless  communication — the 
answering  of  electric  chords — it 's  but  a  step  toward 
the  fact,  the  proving  of  the  Whole  Fact.  To-day 
we  speak  without  wires  across  the  city.  Later,  we 
shall  speak  across  the  world.  Still  later,  between 
the  worlds — perhaps  even — yes,  yes,  I  will  go!  I 
have  but  shown  the  little  step.  I  would  have  the 
time  and  place  to  continue.  And  then  the  new 
world  too — yes,  oh,  yes,  I  will  go,  of  a  certainty !  " 

A  respectful  silence  had  fallen  upon  the  table. 


54          THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

Chauncey  Gale's  face  showed  thoughtful  interest. 
Mr.  Biffer  was  evidently  impressed.  Me  he  had  re 
garded  as  a  crazy  land-lubber  with  fool  notions  of 
navigation.  In  Ferratoni  he  acknowledged  a  man 
of  science — a  science  he  did  not  understand  and 
therefore  regarded  with  reverence  and  awe.  Edith 
Gale's  face  wore  the  exalted  expression  which 
always  gave  it  its  greatest  beauty.  For  myself,  I 
had  been  far  from  unmoved  by  Ferratoni' s  words. 
I  felt  that  it  would  be  hard  to  feel  jealousy  for  a 
man  like  that,  and  still  harder  not  to  do  so.  Gale 
recovered  first,  and  turned  to  me. 

"  What  about  the  superintending  of  the  bal 
loon?"  he  asked.  "Who  have  you  got  for 
that?" 

I  knew  as  little  of  practical  ballooning  as  of  navi 
gation,  but  as  a  boy  I  had  experimented  in  chem 
istry,  and  the  manufacture  of  gases.  More  lately 
I  had  done  some  reading,  and  I  had  ideas  on  the 
subject.  I  said  therefore,  with  becoming  modesty, 
that  I  had  made  some  study  of  aeronautics  and  that, 
as  the  science  had  not  yet  progressed  much  beyond 
the  first  principles  of  filling  a  bag  with  gas  and  wait 
ing  until  the  wind  was  in  the  right  quarter,  I  be 
lieved  I  might  safely  undertake  to  oversee  this  feat 
ure  of  the  enterprise,  including  the  construction  of 
the  boat-sledge-car  combination. 

"  And  T  can  take  a  hand  in  that,  too,"  said  Gale. 


ALL  THINGS  BECOME  POSSIBLE.     55 

"I've  got  a  pretty  good  mechanical  head  myself : 
I've  planned  and  built  about  a  million  houses,  first 
and  last.  Commuters  say  I  can  get  more  closets  and 
cubbyholes  into  a  six-room  cottage  than  anybody 
else  could  set  on  the  bare  lot.  I'll  take  care  of  that 
boat.  Now,  how  about  the  time,  Chase  ?  When  do 
we  start  ?  " 

"  I  had  thought,"  I  answered,  "  that  it  might  re 
quire  a  year  for  preparation.  If  we  started  a  year 
from  now,  or  a  little  later,  we  would  reach  the  Ant- 
arctics  easily  by  the  beginning  of  the  day  or  sum 
mer  season,  and  might,  I  believe,  hope  to  reach  a 
desirable  position  at  or  near  the  ice-barrier  by  the 
beginning  of  the  winter  night.  During  this  we 
would  make  every  added  preparation  for  the  inland 
excursion  to  be  undertaken  on  the  following  sum 
mer " 

"  Say,  we'd  be  apt  to  get  some  frost  on  our  pump 
kins  laying  up  against  an  ice- wall  through  a  six 
months'  night,  wouldn't  we?"  interrupted  Gale. 

I  called  attention  to  the  comfort  with  which  Nan- 
sen  and  his  associates  had  passed  through  an  Arctic 
night  with  far  fewer  resources  than  we  should  have 
on  a  vessel  like  the  Billowcrest. 

"  Look  here,"  said  Gale,  "  what's  the  use  of  wait 
ing  a  year?  Why  not  go  this  year?  " 

"  Why."  I  suggested,  "  we  could  hardly  get 
ready.  There  will  be  food  supplies  to  get  together, 


56  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY, 

instruments,  implements,  the  balloon,  and  then  the 
engaging  of  such  scientists  as  you  might  wish  to 
take  along " 

"  Scientists,"  interrupted  Gale,  "  what  kind  ?  " 

"  Well,  perhaps  a  meteorologist,  a  geologist,  an 
ornithologist 

"  See  here,  what  are  all  those  things  ?  What  are 
they  for?" 

"  To  observe  and  record  conditions,"  I  said. 
"  An  ornithologist,  for  instance,  would  classify  and 
name  any  new  birds  that  we  might  find  in  the 
Southern  Hemisphere,  and  an " 

"  Hold  on,"  interrupted  Gale,  "  we  don't  want 
any  of  that  yet.  We'll  discover  the  country  first. 
We've  got  science  enough  right  here  to  do  that,  I 
guess,  if  anybody  has.  Besides  I'm  a  pretty  good 
hand  at  naming  things  myself,  and  if  we  find  any 
strange  animals  or  birds  wandering  about  down 
there  without  titles,  I'll  just  give  'em  some." 

"  Oh,  Papa,"  laughed  Miss  Gale. 

"  WThy,  yes,  of  course ;  and  now  as  to  those  other 
things.  Mr.  Sturritt  here  can  give  an  order  in  five 
minutes  for  enough  provision  to  last  ten  years,  and 
have  it  on  board  in  twenty-four  hours.  Whatever 
instruments  and  material  you  need  for  your  balloon 
and  telephone  machine  can  be  had  about  as  quick, 
I'm  thinking,  and  if  we  need  any  mechanics  of  any 
kind  I  can  put  my  finger  on  a  hundred  of  them  to- 


ALL  THINGS  BECOME  POSSIBLE.     57 

morrow.  If  we've  got  to  lay  up  six  months  against 
an  ice-wall  we'll  want  something  to  do,  and  will 
have  time  enough  to  build  things  to  fit  the  case  in 
hand.  What  I  want  to  know  is,  if  we  can  be  ready 
to  start  from  here  in  a  week,  so's  we'll  miss  this 
winter  up  here  and  get  safe  in  the  arms  of  that  ice- 
wall  before  winter  sets  in  down  there!  I'm  simply 
pining  to  get  up  against  that  two  thousand  foot  ice- 
blnff,  and  I  don't  want  to  wait  a  year  to  do  it. 
What  do  you  say,  Bill,  can  we  be  ready  to  start  from 
here  in  a  week?  " 

My  heart  sank.  It  was  but  a  huge  joke  then, 
after  all,  and  this  was  his  way  out  of  it.  But  Stur- 
ritt,  who  knew  him,  was  taking  it  seriously. 

"  Yes — that  is — why  certainly,  in — er — three 
days !  "  he  said  with  nervous  haste. 

"  I  can  be  ready  to-morrow,"  said  Ferratoni, 
quietly. 

"  I  am  ready  to  start  to-night,"  said  Edith  Gale. 

I  hastened  to  add  that  the  materials  needed  for 
the  balloon  could  doubtless  be  procured  without 
delay. 

"  And  you,  Biffer?  "  Gale  turned  to  the  Captain 
who  had  been  a  silent  unprotesting  martyr  during 
this  proceeding.  "  Are  you  ready  to  start  in  a  week 
for  the  South  Pole?" 

"  Admiral,"  said  the  Captain  solemnly,  and  mak 
ing  a  sincere  effort  to  fix  him  with  both  eyes  at  once, 


58  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

"  you  own  this  boat  and  I'm  hired  to  sail  it.  I 
don't  believe  in  no  South  Pole,  but  if  there  is  one, 
I  don't  know  of  a  better  place  for  a  crowd  like  this. 
And  if  you  give  the  order  to  go  to  the  South  Pole, 
I'll  take  you  to  the  South  Pole,  and  sail  off  into 
space  when  we  get  there,  if  you  say  so!  " 

Mr.  Biffer's  remarks  were  greeted  with  applause 
and  a  round  of  merriment  in  which  the  Captain  paid 
himself  the  tribute  of  joining. 

"  We'll  have  the  balloon  for  navigating  space, 
Captain  Differ,"  said  Edith  Gale. 

"  And  my  opinion  is  that  we'll  need  it,  ma'am,  if 
we  ever  get  back." 

But  amid  the  now  general  enthusiasm  Chauncey 
Gale  had  sprung  to  his  feet.  There  was  a  flush  of 
excitement  on  his  full  handsome  face,  and  when  he 
spoke  there  was  a  ring  of  decision  in  his  voice. 

"  Everybody  in  favor  of  starting  a  week  from 
to-day,  for  the  South  Pole,  stand  up !  "  he  said. 

There  was  a  universal  scramble.  Captain  Biffer 
was  first  on  his  feet.  Gale  seized  a  glass  of  wine 
and  holding  it  high  above  his  head,  continued : 

"  To  the  Great  Billowcrest  Expedition !  Mis 
sionary  work  for  Johnnie;  electricity  for  Ferratoni : 
balloons  for  Chase ;  tablets  for  Bill ;  the  ship  for  the 
Captain ;  homes  and  firesides  for  me,  and  the  South 
Pole  for  us  all!  " 


VII. 

I    LEARN    THE   WAY   OF   THE   SEA,    AND   ENTER    MORE 
FULLY  INTO   MY   HERITAGE. 

THE  sun  lifting  higher  above  Long  Island 
touched  the  spray  under  the  bow  and  turned  it  into 
a  little  rainbow  that  traveled  on  ahead.  I  leaned 
far  out  to  watch  this  pleasant  omen  of  fortune,  en 
deavoring  meanwhile  to  realize  something  of  the 
situation,  now  that  we  were  finally  under  way  and 
the  years  of  youth  and  waiting,  of  empty  dreams 
and  disappointments,  lay  all  behind. 

It  had  been  a  week  to  be  remembered.  A  whirl 
of  racing  from  ship  to  shop,  and  from  shop  to  fac 
tory — of  urging  and  beseeching  on  my  part,  of  ex 
cuses  and  protestations  on  the  part  of  tradesmen  and 
manufacturers.  T  had  been  almost  despairing  at 
last  in  the  matter  of  material  for  the  balloon  bag, 
when  one  morning — it  was  the  fourth  day — I  heard 
of  a  very  large  completed  balloon,  made  to  order 
for  an  aeronaut  whose  old  one  had  missed  connec 
tion  with  it  by  one  day.  When  they  had  come  to  de- 

59 


60          THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

liver  it,  the  undertaker  was  just  driving  off,  and  the 
aeronaut  had  made  his  farewell  ascension. 

I  found  it  to  be  of  really  enormous  proportions — 
one  of  the  largest  ever  manufactured,  I  was  told — 
so  large,  in  fact,  that  the  maker  was  as  glad  to  part 
with  it  as  I  was  to  secure  it. 

My  associates  also  had  been  somewhat  occupied. 
Mr.  Sturritt's  delivery  teams  had  been  lined  up  on 
the  Billowcrest  dock  from  morning  till  night,  un 
loading  provisions  in  various  forms,  enough  it 
would  seem  for  an  army.  Ferratoni  had  laid  in  his 
cells,  coils,  transmitters,  detectors  and  heaven  only 
knows  what  besides,  while  Miss  Gale  had  under 
taken  to  supply,  in  addition  to  her  own  require 
ments,  the  warm  clothing  and  bedding  likely  to  be 
needed  for  an  Antarctic  winter. 

As  for  Chauncey  Gale,  he  had  sat  all  day  at  a 
little  table  on  the  after-deck  and  signed  checks; 
checks,  many  of  them,  that  would  have  wrecked 
my  former  commercial  venture  at  any  time  during 
the  ten  years  of  its  existence ;  and  he  whistled  as  he 
did  it,  and  called  out  words  of  comfort  to  Captain 
Biffer,  who,  with  a  fierce  eye  on  each  end  of  the  ves 
sel,  strode  up  and  down  where  boxes,  barrels,  rolls, 
rope,  chains,  etc.,  were  piled  or  still  coming  over 
the  side — rending  the  Second  Commandment  into 
orders  and  admonitions  that  would  have  turned  a 
clergyman  gray  in  a  night. 


/  LEARN  THE  WA  Y  OF  THE  SEA.     61 

Now  it  was  all  over.  The  weird  maelstrom  of 
whirling  days  and  nights  that  had  added  unreality 
to  what  was  already  dreamlike  and  impossible,  had 
subsided.  We  were  going  down  the  harbor  under 
full  sail.  Leaving  the  others  still  at  breakfast,  I 
had  come  out  here  alone  to  find  myself. 

I  could  not  grasp  it  at  all.  The  little  farm  boy 
who  in  the  night  had  wakened  and  cried  for  the  sea, 
going  back  to  it,  at  last.  The  youth  who  had  car 
ried  into  manhood  the  fancy  of  a  fair  unknown 
land,  and  of  one  day  sailing  away  to  the  South  to 
find  it,  entering  suddenly  into  an  Aladdin-like  reali 
zation  of  his  dreams.  It  seemed  to  me  that  every 
vessel  in  the  harbor  ought  to  be  decorated  and  firing 
salutes — that  every  soul  of  the  vast  city  ought  to 
be  waving  us  adieu. 

To  be  sure,  we  hadn't  told  anybody.  Gale  was 
rather  down  on  the  papers,  and  we  had  left  so  sud 
denly  that  they  had  little  chance  to  find  out  what 
we  were  doing.  One  of  them — that  of  the  million 
aire  editor — got  an  inkling  of  it  in  some  way,  and 
in  its  Sunday  Magazine  of  two  days  before  had 
filled  a  page  with  strange  vagaries  purporting  to  be 
our  plans,  and  disturbing  pictures  of  the  lands  and 
people  we  expected  to  discover.  But  as  no  one 
ever  believes  anything  printed  in  a  Sunday  news 
paper,  even  when  backed  up  by  sworn  statements, 
these  things  appeared  to  have  passed  unnoticed. 


62  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

There  had  been  one  exception,  however;  my  scien 
tist  of  the  snark  and  flipper,  who  had  appeared  on 
Monday  morning  to  enter  his  promised  protest. 

He  came  at  a  busy  time.  About  a  hundred 
teams  were  backing  into  each  other  on  the  dock, 
whence  arose  a  medley  of  un joyous  execration,  and 
a  line  of  men  were  waiting  at  Gale's  little  table  for 
checks.  It  was  this  auspicious  moment  that  my 
scientist  selected  for  his  mission.  Captain  Biffer, 
to  whom  he  first  appealed,  acknowledged  him  with 
an  observation  which  no  magazine  would  print,  and 
waved  him  toward  Gale. 

"  There's  the  man  you  want,"  he  snorted,  "  that 
man  over  there  giving  his  money  away." 

Chauncey  Gale  was  at  that  moment  engaged  in 
constructing  a  check  that  ran  well  into  four  fig 
ures.  He  paused,  however,  with  his  hand  on  the 
way  to  the  ink-bottle  and  listened  for  a  moment 
with  proper  respect.  Then  he  said,  quite  serenely : 

"  I  wonder  if  you  couldn't  conveniently  go  to  hell 
for  about  three  years.  Perhaps  by  then  I'll  have 
time  to  listen  to  you.  You  notice  we're  pretty  busy, 
this  morning." 

I  smiled  now,  recalling  how  the  human  seal  had 
flopped  backwards  over  a  box  of  cod-fish  and  nar 
rowly  missed  pitching  overboard  in  his  anxiety  to 
get  ashore.  There  had  been  no  further  interfer 
ence,  and  no  offered  encouragement.  We  were 


/  LEARN  THE  WAY  OF  THE  SEA.     63 

leaving  it  all  behind,  now;  the  narrow,  busy,  indif 
ferent  world.  .There  were  no  salutes,  and  if  there 
were  any  flags,  or  waving,  I  did  net  see  them.  No 
body  had  been  down  to  see  us  off,  and  impudent 
tugs  steamed  by  and  splashed  water  at  us,  just  as  if 
we  were  going  out  for  a  day's  sail,  and  would  be 
back  in  time  for  the  roof  gardens. 

Somewhat  later  I  was  joined  by  Edith  Gale. 
It  is  customary  to  say  "  as  fresh  as  the  morning," 
when  referring  to  a  fair  woman  at  such  a  time,  but, 
rare  as  the  morning  was,  I  could  not  have  paid  it  a 
finer  tribute  than  to  have  compared  it  to  Edith  Gale. 

She  came  forward  and  leaned  over  at  the  other 
side  of  the  bow-sprit. 

"  How  pretty  the  little  rainbow  is  this  morning," 
she  said,  looking  down. 

'  Yes,  I  have  been  accepting  it  as  an  omen  of 
success." 

Edith  Gale  laughed. 

"  I  hope  it  doesn't  mean  that  we  are  pursuing  a 
rainbow.  We  never  quite  capture  it,  you  see." 

"  I  have  been  called  a  rainbow  chaser  all  my 
life,"  I  answered,  a  little  sadly. 

"  I  suppose  there  is  always  some  rainbow  just 
ahead  of  us  all,"  she  mused.  "  Even  if  we  find  the 
South  Pole,  and  all  the  things  we  expect  there,  then 
something  else  will  come  to  wish  for  and  look  for 
ward  to." 


64          THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

"  I  am  sure  of  it,"  I  answered  fervently,  "  I " 

Her  father's  warning  recurred  to  me  oppor 
tunely.  We  were  not  yet  out  of  the  harbor,  and  I 
did  not  wish  to  be  set  ashore  at  Sandy  Hook. 

"  There  is  the  ocean,"  she  said  presently,  "  the 
Atlantic  Ocean.  How  I  love  it !  " 

We  had  already  caught  the  slight  swell  from  the 
sea.  The  added  exhilaration  of  it  filled  me  with 
exultant  joy.  I  stood  up  and  drew  in  a  deep  breath 
of  the  salt  ambrosia. 

"  Oh,"  I  said,  "  it  is  wine — nectar !  It  is  my 
birthright — I  have  always  known  that  I  should 
come  back  to  it,  some  day !  " 

Instinctively  we  turned  for  a  last  look  at  the  har 
bor  we  were  leaving.  Farther  down  the  deck  Fer- 
ratoni  was  pointing  out  some  landmark  to  Chauncey 
Gale,  while  from  the  bridge  Captain  Differ  was  tak 
ing  a  silent  and  solemn  farewell  of  the  sky-scrapers 
of  Manhattan.  Mr.  Sturritt  presently  came  out  of 
the  cabin,  beaming,  and  looked  out  to  sea.  The 
land  had  no  further  attraction  for  him.  Our  pro 
vision  and  the  materials  for  his  tablets  were  safely 
on  board. 

We  faced  seaward  again.  We  were  through  the 
Narrows  now,  and  the  swell  was  much  stronger, 
a  long  steady  swing.  I  heard  the  Captain  give  a 
word  of  command  to  the  helmsman  and  noticed  that 
we  were  turning  to  the  southward.  A  shoreless 
expanse  of  ocean  lay  ahead. 


/  LEARN  THE  WAY  OF  THE  SEA.     65 

"  I  should  think  all  this  would  appear  like  a 
dream  to  you,"  said  Edith  Gale.  "  Aren't  you 
afraid  you'll  wake  up?" 

"  I  have  been  trying  to  find  something  to  con 
vince  me  that  I  am  awake,"  I  said. 

"  How  splendid  it  was  that  Papa  took  up  with 
your  plans.  You  know  he  has  all  sorts  of  things 
brought  to  him.  A  man  came  to  him  not  long  ago 
with  some  scheme  for  buying  stocks  that  he  said 
would  pay  a  hundred  per  cent,  a  week  on  the  in 
vestment.  Papa  gave  him  a  dollar,  and  told  him 
that  if  his  theory  was  correct  he  didn't  need  any 
partner,  for  the  dollar  would  make  him  rich  in  six 
months." 

The  pitch  of  the  vessel  became  stronger.  Then, 
too,  it  was  not  always  regular.  Sometimes  it 
swung  off  a  bit  to  one  side,  and  just  when  I  felt 
that  it  ought  to  lift  us  buoyantly  and  sustainingly 
it  would  disappoint  me  by  sinking  away  beneath  us 
— falling  down-hill,  as  it  were — or  it  would  change 
its  mind  at  the  last  minute  and  conclude  to  fall 
down  some  other  hill,  or  perhaps  give  up  the  notion 
altogether.  I  grew  discontented  and  wished  it 
wouldn't  do  these  things.  There  was  a  bit  of 
tarred  lashing  on  the  bow-sprit  near  us.  In  the 
harbor  the  smell  of  it  had  been  fine  and  inspiring, 
but  it  did  not  attract  me  any  more.  It  had  become 
rather  obnoxious,  in  fact,  and  I  moved  a  little  to 
5 


66  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

one  side  to  avoid  it.  Neither  did  I  feel  inclined  to 
laugh  at  Edith  Gale's  story.  Somehow  it  did  not 
seem  altogether  in  good  taste.  Perhaps  she  was 
disappointed,  for  she  referred  to  my  own  plans. 

"  And  to  think  that  Papa  should  believe  in  you 
from  the  start.  He  said  he  had  never  seen  any  one 
so  much  in  earnest  about  anything  as  you  were  in 
your  determination  to  find  the  South  Pole." 

"  Yes — oh,  yes,"  I  admitted  weakly,  "  I  was  in 
earnest,  of  course — but " 

The  ship  gave  a  peculiar  roll  and  the  salt  spray 
came  flying  up  from  below.  Some  of  it  got  into 
my  mouth.  It  took  away  any  remaining  interest 
I  may  have  had  in  Miss  Gale's  conversation.  I  did 
not  care  for  the  South  Pole,  either,  and  the  rainbow 
of  promise  had  become  a  mockery.  I  remembered 
a  particularly  steady  bit  of  rock  in  one  of  my 
father's  meadows.  As  a  child  this  rock  had  been 
the  ship  on  which  I  had  voyaged  through  billowing 
seas  of  grass.  I  would  have  been  willing  now  to 
give  all  my  interest  in  both  poles,  the  ship,  and 
even  in  Miss  Gale  herself,  to  cruise  once  more  for 
five  minutes  on  that  rock. 

Edith  Gale  wiped  the  water  from  her  own  face, 
laughing  merrily. 

"  I  love  the  sea  spray,"  she  said  gaily,  "  can  you 
taste  the  gold  in  it?  " 

I  shook  my  head  miserably. 


/  LEARN  THE  WAY  OF  THE  SEA.     67 

"  A  man  came  to  Papa,  once,  with  a  scheme  to 
extract  the  gold  from  it,"  she  ran  on.  "  Papa  told 
him  that  there  was  so  much  water  that  he  guessed 
he'd  wait  till  the  patent  on  the  process  became  pub 
lic,  or  ran  out.  Do  you  suppose  there  really  is  gold 
in  it?" 

I  could  not  answer  immediately. 

"  Do  you  suppose  there  is?  "  she  repeated,  and  I 
thought  there  was  a  note  of  injury  in  her  voice. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know,"  I  groaned  wretchedly,  "  but 
I  know  what  will  be  there,  pretty  soon,  if  this  ship 
doesn't  stand  still !  " 

She  turned  a  startled  face  toward  me.  She  said 
afterwards  that  all  the  colors  of  the  ocean  were  re 
flected  in  mine.  She  had  been  ready  to  laugh  at 
first,  but  her  expression  became  one  of  compassion. 

"  Oh,"  she  said,  "  I  never  thought,  I  am  such  a 
good  sailor — and  the  bow  is  the  very  worst  place 
for  that.  You  must  go  back  amid-ships.  You  are 
seasick — I  am  sure  of  it !  " 

"  So  am  I,"  I  gasped,  "  and  I  am  also  sure,  now, 
that  I  am  not  dreaming !  " 

I  stumbled  feebly  back  to  a  steamer-chair  and 
looked  out  on  the  horizon  that  one  instant  sank  far 
below  the  rail,  and  the  next,  lifted  as  far  above 
it.  Between  lay  the  tossing  sea — my  heritage. 
That  which  my  ancestors  had  lived  and  died  for. 
I  did  not  blame  them  for  dying — I  was  willing  to 


68  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

do  that,  myself.  Chauncey  Gale  came  along  just 
then. 

"  I've  got  a  great  scheme  for  the  balloon  boat," 
he  began,  "  a  combination  wind  and  water  propel 
ler.  Ferratoni  can  supply  the  power,  and 

He  caught  my  expression  just  then  and  the 
words  died  in  his  throat. 

"  Hello,"  he  laughed,  "  you've  got  'em,  haven't 
you?  Storm  last  week  left  it  a  little  rough.  Do 
you  always  get  sick  this  way  at  sea?  " 

"  I — yes — I  don't  know.  It — it's  my  first  experi 
ence." 

Gale  regarded  me  with  an  amazement  that  was 
akin  to  respect. 

"  Oh,  Lord  !  "  he  gasped.  "  Never  been  to  sea  be 
fore  and  planned  a  trip  to  the  South  Pole !  What's 
a  bluff  without  a  show-down!  " 

"  Do  you  think  I'll  be  like  this  all  the  way  ?  "  I 
asked. 

"Oh,  ps'haw!  No!  I'll  have  Bill  give  you  some 
of  his  tablets.  You'll  be  all  right  enough  by  lunch 
time." 

The  suggestion  of  a  food  tablet  at  this  particular 
time  was  the  last  thing  needed.  I  went  hastily  be 
low. 

Gale's  prediction  was  not  quite  realized.  I  was 
absent  from  luncheon,  but  before  evening  the  spirit 
of  my  ancestors  rose  within  me — perhaps  because 


/  LEARN  THE  WAY  OF  THE  SEA.      69 

there  was  nothing  else  left  for  that  purpose — and 
I  ascended  to  the  dinner  table. 

"  Well,  you've  concluded  that  this  voyage  is  no 
dream,  have  you?  "  greeted  Gale. 

"  A  good  many  more  will  come  to  that  conclusion 
before  it's  over."  growled  Captain  Biffer,  who  was 
present. 

Across  the  table,  the  place  of  Ferratoni  was  va 
cant.  Edith  Gale,  radiant,  beamed  upon  me.  I 
could  afford  to  laugh,  now,  and  did  so. 

And  thus  it  was  I  came  fully  into  my  heritage. 


VIII. 

THE  HALCYON  WAY  TO  THE  SOUTH. 

A  COLD  plunge  next  morning  in  water  combed  up 
from  the  very  bottom  of  the  sea  was  my  final  bap 
tismal  ceremony.  Fully  restored  I  hastened  on 
deck.  Chauncey  and  Edith  Gale  were  already 
there,  walking  briskly  up  and  down,  and  I  joined 
in  the  joyous  march.  A  faint  violet  bank  showed 
on  the  western  horizon.  Looking  through  a  glass 
I  could  see  that  it  was  solid  and  unchanging  in  out 
line.  It  was  land,  they  explained;  we  were  off 
Cape  Charles,  and  would  pass  Hatteras  during  the 
afternoon.  I  remembered  an  account  in  my  old 
Fifth  Reader  of  "  The  Last  Cruise  of  the  Monitor." 
It  had  been  always  my  favorite  selection  in  the 
reading  class.  It  gave  me  a  curious  feeling  now 
to  know  that  we  were  soon  to  pass  over  the  waters 
where  the  sturdy  little  fighter  had  gone  down. 
However,  I  had  no  longer  a  sense  of  unreality  in 
my  surroundings.  I  had  been  too  thoroughly 
waked  up  the  day  before. 

We  were  presently  joined  by  Ferratoni — spirit 
ually  pale,  but  triumphant.  I  was  not  sorry,  for  I 
70 


THE  HALCYON  WA  Y  SOUTH.        71 

could  not  help  caring  for  the  man,  and  it  seemed  to 
me  that  after  all  his  devotion  to  Edith  Gale  might 
be  rather  a  tribute  to  an  ideal  than  a  genuine  pas 
sion  of  the  heart.  We  ascended  to  the  bridge 
where  we  found  the  First  Officer  on  watch.  His 
name  was  Larkins — Terence  Larkins — a  sturdy 
Newfoundlander  of  forty,  whose  life  ashore  had 
been  limited  to  childhood  only — a  period  now  lost 
in  the  cloudland  of  myth  and  fable.  He  had  no 
prejudices  concerning  our  destination.  He  was 
ready  at  any  moment  to  go  anywhere  that  the  sea 
touched,  and  to  maintain  a  pleasant  discourse  at  any 
stage  of  the  journey.  He  was  big  and  blond,  with 
a  touch  of  ancestry  in  his  speech  and  a  proper  disre 
gard  of  facts — a  merry  Munchausen  of  the  sea. 
He  saluted  as  we  approached,  and  pointed  shore 
ward. 

"  Farrmers'  day  ashore,"  he  said,  with  a  serious 
air.  "  All  the  farrmers  come  to  the  beach  to-day 
for  their  annual  shwim." 

"Is  this  the  day?"  I  asked,  looking  where  he 
pointed.  "  I've  heard  of  it,  but  I  had  forgotten  the 
date." 

"  Sure  it  is,  man ;  an'  can't  ye  see  thim  over 
there,  dhriving  down  to  the  beach  with  their  teams? 
An'  thim  fellies  puttin'  up  the  limonade  shtands,  an' 
merry-go-rounds  fer  the  farrmer  lads  an'  their 
shweetheartses  ?  " 


72  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

I  reached  for  the  glass  and  took  a  long  look. 
The  solid  purple  wall  was  as  solid  and  purple  as  it 
had  been  before. 

"  No,  really,  Mr.  Larkins,"  I  admitted,  "  I  do 
not." 

"  Let  me  look,  Larkins,"  said  Gale. 

He  leveled  the  glass  and  began  to  testify. 

"  Why,  of  course !  And  there's  a  new  addition 
laid  out  just  below,  and  a  little  sign  stuck  up  with 
—let  me  see— M-A-R-S-H-S-I-D-E  on  it.  Well, 
that's  a  funny  name  for  an  addition,  '  Marshside! ' 

Edith  Gale  seized  the  glass.  After  a  hasty 
glance  she  declared : 

"Of  course  Mr.  Chase  couldn't  see  anything! 
And  you  and  Mr.  Larkins  didn't,  either." 

Ferratoni  who  had  been  gazing  through  another 
glass  also  shook  his  head.  Chauncey  Gale  and  Mr. 
Larkins  joined  in  a  hearty  laugh  at  our  expense. 

"  Oh,  now,"  consoled  the  latter,  "  it's  because 
yer  eyes  are  not  thrained  to  lookin'  over  the  sea. 
By  the  time  ye  get  back  from  the  South  Pole  they'll 
be  opened  to  a  great  many  things." 

There  came  the  summons  to  breakfast  and  we 
went  below — certainly  with  no  reluctance  on  my 
part,  this  time. 

And  now  passed  beautiful  days;  glorious  ship 
board  days  to  which  the  slight  uncertainty  of  a 
rival's  relative  position  gave  only  added  zest.  Fer- 


THE  HALCYON  WA  Y  SO UTH.        73 

ratoni,  it  is  true,  may  have  had  somewhat  different 
views  in  this  matter.  He  was  obliged  to  spend  the 
greater  part  of  his  time  with  Gale  in  the  modeling 
of  the  new  electrical  propelling  apparatus,  which  the 
latter  was  perfecting  for  the  balloon.  In  the  mat 
ter  of  constructive  detail  my  assistance  was  not 
highly  regarded  by  Gale  who  had  really  a  mechan 
ical  turn  of  mind,  as  the  Billowcrest  itself  proved; 
for  whatever  may  have  been  the  vessel's  faults  from 
the  seaman's  standpoint  it  was  certainly  all  that  a 
landsman  could  desire.  Below  stairs  there  was  a 
splendidly  appointed  workshop,  and  the  engineers 
on  the  Billowcrest  were  also  skilled  workers  in 
wood  and  metals.  The  boat-car  for  the  Cloudcrest, 
as  we  had  decided  to  name  the  balloon,  was  a  mat 
ter  of  daily  discussion  among  us  all,  but  at  the  point 
of  technical  intricacy  I  was  promptly  relieved  for 
the  good  of  all  concerned. 

It  was  but  natural,  therefore,  that  I  should  be  a 
good  deal  in  Edith  Gale's  company.  Also  that  I 
should  feel  a  gentle  solicitude  for  Ferratoni — a 
sweet  soul  whom  all  presently  grew  to  love;  it 
seemed  too  bad  that  he  should  not  come  in  for  his 
full  share  of  paradise.  My  own  fancies  had  been 
called  poetic,  but  I  realized  dairy  that  Ferratoni 
lived  in  a  world  which  to  me  could  be  never  more 
than  borderland.  And  this  I  hoped  consoled  him 
somewhat  for  what  he  was  missing  by  tinkering 


74  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

away  his  days  with  Gale  on  a  dynamo  for  my  bal 
loon  car,  while  I  was  revelling  in  the  seventh  delight 
of  the  daughter's  company,  above  stairs. 

We  cared  for  pretty  much  the  same  things.  We 
liked  to  walk  up  and  down  the  decks,  discussing  the 
books  we  had  read,  the  pictures  we  had  seen,  and 
the  purpose  and  possibilities  of  art. 

"  Beauty,  the  secret  of  the  universe, 
The  thought  that  gives  the  soul  eternal  peace." 

was  the  quotation  most  frequently  on  her  lips. 

She  had  seen  so  much  more  of  the  world  and  its 
glories  than  I,  and  her  understanding  of  nature  was 
a  marvel  to  me.  She  taught  me  to  see  colors  that 
I  had  been  blind  to  before.  Sometimes  she  brought 
up  her  materials  and  sketched,  while  I  looked  on 
and  loved  her.  When  she  would  let  me  I  photo 
graphed  her.  One  day  I  ventured  to  show  her 
some  verses  that  I  had  written,  and  the  fact  that 
she  really  seemed  to  care  for  them  gave  me  a  higher 
opinion  of  us  both. 

And  the  sea  racing  past  made  a  fine  accompani 
ment  to  these  pleasant  things.  She  liked  to  watch 
the  surge  along  the  side  and  listen  to  its  music.  So 
did  I,  and  often  together  we  leaned  over  the  rail  to 
watch  and  hear  it  rush  by. 

We  discussed  metaphysics,  and  talked  of  life,  and 
love,  and  death,  Remembering  Chauncey  Gale's 


THE  HALCYON  WA  Y  SOUTH.        75 

advice,  I  was  careful  to  avoid  the  personal  note  at 
such  times.  Ferratoni  had  touched  now  and  then 
upon  his  theories  in  these  matters,  and  these  sug 
gested  speculations  of  our  own.  I  was  not  dis 
pleased  to  find  that  Edith  Gale  did  not  quite  accord 
with,  or  perhaps  altogether  grasp,  his  filmy  philoso 
phies.  I  preferred  that  she  should  be  less  ethereal— 
what  she  was,  in  fact — a  splendid  reality  of  flesh 
and  blood  and  soul,  with  a  love  of  all  the  joys  of 
earth  and  sky.  The  clouds  scudding  across  the 
blue,  the  white  joy  of  the  sunlit  sails,  the  smash  of 
the  spray  over  the  bow,  a  merry  game  of  shuffle- 
board,  and  even  hop-scotch — these  things  gave  her 
life  and  sustenance — and  then,  at  the  end  of  the  day, 
came  the  good  dinner,  and  the  untroubled  sleep  of 
a  healthy  child. 


IX. 

ADMONITION  AND  COUNSEL. 

OUR  progress  southward  was  hurried.  We 
had  touched  at  Charleston  for  a  full  supply  of  coal, 
but  we  were  sailing  under  canvas  only.  It  was 
still  bleak  winter  below  Cape  Horn,  and  we  did  not 
wish  to  enter  those  somber  seas  before  November, 
the  beginning  of  the  Antarctic  spring. 

Sometimes  Edith  Gale  and  I  drew  steamer  chairs 
to  the  extreme  bow  of  the  boat,  and  looking  away  to 
the  horizon,  imagined  the  land  of  our  quest  lying 
just .  beyond.  At  night,  from  this  point,  we 
watched  the  new  constellations  of  the  tropics  rising 
from  the  sea,  and  those  of  the  North  falling  back, 
behind  us. 

Chauncey  Gale  and  Ferratoni  frequently  joined 
us,  and  at  times  I  was  constrained  through  courtesy 
to  leave  Ferratoni  and  Edith  Gale  together.  Per 
haps  it  was  not  quite  wise — the  stars  and  sea  form 
a  dangerous  combination  to  a  man  like  Ferratoni. 

After  one  such  evening  I  was  taking  a  morning 
constitutional  on  the  deck  forward  when  I  saw  a 
76 


ADMONITION  AND  COUNSEL.       77 

female  figure  emerge  from  the  cabin.  Edith  Gale 
had  often  joined  me  in  these  walks,  but  it  was  not 
she.  Neither  was  it  our  stewardess — a  brawny, 
non-committal  Scotch  woman,  of  whom  Mr.  Stur- 
ritt,  though  her  superior  in  rank,  stood  in  whole 
some  awe.  It  proved  to  be  Miss  Gale's  maid  and 
former  nurse,  the  stout  colored  woman,  Zarelda, 
or  Zar,  as  she  was  commonly  called.  Miss  Gale 
had  long  since  told  me  of  some  of  the  peculiar  say 
ings  and  eccentricities  of  this  privileged  person,  but 
thus  far  my  interest  in  her  had  been  rather  casual. 
Now,  however,  she  planted  herself  at  one  end  of 
my  promenade  and  sternly  faced  my  approach.  I 
bade  her  a  respectful  and  even  engaging  "  good 
morning  "  as  I  came  on,  but  the  severity  of  her 
features  did  not  relax.  She  nodded  ominously,  and 
proceeded  to  open  fire. 

"  Look  heah,"  she  demanded,  "  I  wan'  know 
wheah  you  gwine  wid  dis  ship?  " 

"  Why,  down  to  the  Antarctics,"  I  said  win- 
ninglv.  ''  I  thought  everybody  knew  that." 

I  felt  a  sense  of  relief  in  being  able  to  answer  so 
readily.  It  seemed  I  was  not  quite  through,  how 
ever. 

"  Yes,  down  to  Aunt  Ar'tics !  "  she  snorte'd,  "  I 
should  say  down  to  Aunt  Ar'tics!  I  like  to  know 
whose  kinfolks  dat  Aunt  Ar'tics  is,  anyway!  I 
ain'  nevah  heard  o'  none  o'  Mistah  Gale's  people 


THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY.  78 

by  dat  name,  an'  if  she  some  o'  yo'  po'  relation,  I 
don'  see  what  foh  we-a\\  mus'  go  trailin'  off  down 
to  de  mos'  Godforlonesomest  spot  on  dis  earth,  to 
visit  in  de  dead  o'  wintah.  An'  what  my  Miss 
Edith  goin'  foh,  anyway?  What  my  Miss  Edith 
got  to  do  wid  yo'  old  Aunt  Ar'tics,  dat's  what  1 
wan'  to  know?  Humph!  moah  antics  dan  Ar'tics 
—dat's  what  I  think !  " 

My  emotions  during  this  assault  had  been  rather 
conflicting,  but  I  managed  to  maintain  a  proper  de 
gree  of  calmness. 

"  Why,"  I  said  gravely,  "  this  '  Antarctics  '  bears 
a  relationship  to  us  all — to  the  whole  world,  in 
fact." 

I  rather  prided  myself  on  the  cleverness  of  this 
rejoinder,  but  it  appeared  after  all  to  have  been 
rather  poorly  thought  out. 

"Dat's  enough!  Dat  settles  it,"  she  exploded. 
"  Now  I  know  mighty  well  dey  ain'  no  sech  pussun. 
Kinfolks  to  de  whole  worl'.  Look  heah,  me  an'  my 
Miss  Edith  has  jes'  been  deceptified  long  enough ! 
I  know  wheah  you  gwine  wid  dis  boat !  You  gwine 
to  de  Souf  Pole — dat's  wheah  you  gwine!  T  done 
heah  de  Cap'n  say  so  las'  night,  an'  dat  when  he 
got  dar  he  gwine  to  sail  her  off  into  space  wid  de 
whole  kit  an*  possum  of  us!  I  know  mightv  well 
somp'n  gone  wrong  when  I  put  Miss  Edith  to  baid. 
She  ain'  said  two  words,  an'  befoah  dat  she  been 


ADMONITION  AND  COUNSEL.      79 

mighty  chipper  de  whole  trip.  I  didn't  know  what 
it  was,  an'  I  set  an'  hol'Jier  han'  an'  sing  to  her,  an' 
it  seem  like  she  ain'  nevah  goin'  to  sleep.  But 
bimeby  when  I  slip  up  on  deck  a  liT,  to  look  at  de 
sky,  I  heah  de  Cap'n  an'  Mistah  Lahkins  argifyin' 
up  on  de  bridge,  an'  I  heah  de  Cap'n  say  dat  we 
goin'  to  de  Souf  Pole  an',  'scusin'  de  libe'ty,  sah, 
dat  you  gone  plum  crazy  on  de  subjec',  and  dat 
you  got  de  Admiral  an'  Mistah  Macarony  an' 
Mistah  Sturritt  all  crazy,  laikewise;  an'  dat  he 
gwine  to  sail  you-all  to  de  Souf  Pole,  case  dat 
wheah  you-all  b'long,  an'  dat  you-all  nevah  get 
home,  case  when  he  get  dere  he  gwine  straight  off 
into  space  wid  de  ship,  an'  de  whole  caboodle  in  it. 
An'  den  right  away,  I  knowed  what's  de  mattah 
wid  my  Miss  Edith.  I  knowed  she  been  up  dar 
a-hearin'  somp'n,  too.  An'  I  make  up  my  min', 
right  den  an'  dar,  dat  me  an'  my  Miss  Edith  ain' 
gwine.  I  like  to  see  me  an'  my  Miss  Edith  flyin'  off 
into  space,  an'  us  wid  no  wings  yit,  an'  fallin' 
down  to  de  bottomless  pit  an'  lake  o'  fiah ! 
Humph!  We's  gwine  de  other  way,  we  is!  " 

She  hesitated  a  moment  for  breath,  and  I  took 
advantage  of  the  recess. 

"  What  did  Mr.  Larkins  say  about  it?"  I  asked. 

"  Mistah  Lahkins !  Humph,  Mistah  Lahkins ! 
What  he  always  say?  He  jes'  laugh  an'  say  dat  de 
Souf  Pole  'bout  de  onliest  stick  o'  timbah  he  ain' 


8o  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

tie  up  to  yit,  but  he  reckon  dat  it  strong  enough  to 
hoi'  us  f'm  gwine  off  into  space.  Anyway,  he 
willin'  to  take  chances  wid  de  res'.  'An'  de  Cap'n 
say,  '  Dat's  all  right,  same  here/  but  dat  de  bosen, 
Frenchy,  been  talkin'  'roim'  'mong  de  sailors,  an' 
dat  some  get  mighty  oneasy  an'  wan'  to  be  put 
ashoah.  An'  dat's  what  7  want.  I  wan'  me  an' 
my  Miss  Edith  put  ashoah.  Den  if  you-all  mus' 
go  on  aftah  de  Souf  Pole,  why  jes'  go,  and  leave 
me  an'  my  Miss  Edith  to  go  back  home;  an'  nex' 
time  tell  folks  wheah  you  gwine,  an'  not  make  out 
like  you  takin'  all  dis  perwision  down  to  some  po' 
kinfolks  dat  everybody  related  to,  an'  nobody  don't 
know  about." 

There  was  another  brief  intermission.  The  inci 
dent  was  entertaining  enough,  but  there  was  a 
grave  note  in  it  as  well.  In  the  bosen,  Frenchy,  T 
recognized  the  sailor  who  on  the  first  day  had 
barred  my  entrance  to  the  Billowcrest.  I  recalled 
my  unfavorable  impression  of  the  man.  He  would 
be  altogether  the  one,  I  thought,  to  stir  up  dis 
content  among  the  sailors — an  unpleasant  pros 
pect. 

"  Please,  sah,  won't  you  put  me  an'  my  Miss 
Edith  ashoah,  sah  ?  "  In  my  more  serious  consid 
eration  I  had  temporarily  forgotten  Zar's  presence. 
She  had  believed  me  hesitating,  perhaps,  and  had 
adopted  a  persuasive  tone  in  consequence.  "  Miss 


ADMONITION  AND  COUNSEL.       81 

Edith  mighty  sad  las'  night,"  she  added,  "  an'  I 
know  you  don'  want  dat  po'  gal  to  go  spillin'  off 
into  space  like  a  HT  robin  when  he  nes'  break!  " 

"  Not  for  the  South  Pole,  Antarctics,  and  the 
whole  world,  Zar !  "  I  said  with  a  fervency  that 
made  the  woman  suddenly  regard  me  with  a  new 
interest.  There  was  a  rustle  behind  her,  and  Edith 
Gale  stepped  out  on  deck.  "  Here  is  Miss  Gale  to 
speak  for  herself,"  I  added,  with  some  confusion. 

"  What's  the  matter,  Zar  ?  What  do  you  want 
of  Mr.  Chase?" 

"  I  want  him  to  put  we  'uns  ashoah,"  began  the 
old  woman.  "  I  tol'  him  we  done  foun'  out  about 
gwine  to  de  Souf  Pole,  an'  dat  you  an'  me  wan'  to 
get  off  right  heah,  an'  go  ashoah." 

"  But  I  don't  want  to  get  off,  Zar.  I've  known 
all  along  where  we  are  going.  I  want  to  go  to  the 
South  Pole  with — with  Papa,  and  we're  going  to 
bring  it  back  with  us." 

Zar  regarded  her  mistress  a  moment  in  silence. 
Then  she  said  in  a  voice  of  grave  wonderment : 

"  I  wish  you  tell  me  what  dat  Paw  of  yours 
gwine  to  do  wid  dat  Souf  Pole  when  he  gits  it? 
Am'  he  got  money  'nuff  already?  Anyhow,  who 
gwine  to  buy  dat  pole?  An'  how  dey  gwine  know 
hit's  de  sho  nuff  Souf  Pole  when  dey  sees  hit? 
What's  to  hender  us  gwine  'shoah  right  heah,  an' 
hackin'  down  any  ole  pole,  an'  gwine  home  again 


82  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

widout  any  moah  foolishness?  Ain'  none  dem 
folks  up  in  New  York  gvvine  know  de  diff'ence!  " 

"  Why,  Zar,"  laughed  Miss  Gale,  "  and  you  such 
a  good  church  member !  " 

"  Well,  den,  if  yo'  Paw  boun'  to  go  aftah  de  sho' 
miff  pole,  let  him  go,  but  don'  you  go.  You  cain't 
he'p  him  any !  " 

"  But,  Zar,  you  know  I  wouldn't  leave  Papa.  I 
never  could." 

The  old  woman  tossed  her  head. 

"  Humph !  Bettah  not  be  too  suah !  "  She  re 
garded  me  with  a  fierceness  that  somehow  warmed 
me  to  the  soul.  "  Dey  ain'  no  man  livin'  I'd  go  to 
de  Souf  Pole  foh,"  she  concluded,  and  with  this 
final  shot  she  disappeared,  and  went  rumbling  down 
the  companion-way,  "  no,  sah,  not  even  if  I  could 
be  wid  him  all  de  way  an'  back  again." 

"  See,  there's  a  vessel,"  said  Edith  Gale.  "  Bring 
the  glass,  please,  and  let's  try  to  make  her  out." 

I  hastened  to  obey,  though  with  no  great  interest 
in  the  result.  The  tropics  and  distant  vessels  had 
been  wonderfully  fascinating  to  me,  but  just  at  this 
moment  I  was  dwelling  fondly  on  Zar's  parting 
salute. 

A  little  later  she  sought  me  again. 

"  Look  heah,"  she  counselled  solemnly,  "  you 
turn  dis  ship  right  'round,  now,  an'  go  back  home. 
You  go  off  down  dar  wid  my  Miss  Edith,  an'  bofe 


ADMONITION  AND  COUNSEL.       83 

die  an'  get  all  froze  stiff,  an'  den  what  good  is  you 
to  each  other,  I  like  to  know  ?  What  good  is  you  ?  " 

Zar  had  meant  this  for  remonstrance  and  admo 
nition,  but  I  was  her  sworn  friend  and  champion 
from  that  moment. 

Chauncey  Gale  found  me  staring  off  at  the  hori 
zon  and  building  a  fair  castle  in  which  the  South 
Pole  had  no  part. 

"  Chase,"  he  said,  "  don't  you  make  a  mistake, 
too,  and  forget  what  I  told  you  about  Johnnie." 

The  abruptness  of  it  startled  me  a  bit,  but  there 
was  a  quality  in  his  voice  that  called  for  confidence 
and  sincerity. 

"  Thank  you,  Mr.  Gale,  and — and  I  believe  you 
spoke  just  in  time." 

"  I  had  my  suspicions  of  it,"  he  admitted. 
"  Tony  got  his  medicine  last  night,  I  guess." 

"  Oh!  "  I  had  started  a  bit,  and  Zar's  report  of 
Miss  Gale's  depression  took  on  a  new  meaning. 

"  Yes,  he's  no  good  this  morning.  He  got  all 
tangled  up  on  his  dynamo  and  we  had  an  explosion 
that  nearly  set  the  ship  afire.  Then  he  went  off 
half  crying  and  I  haven't  seen  him  since.  I  guess 
he  wishes  himself  ashore,  now,  but  wishin'  won't 
do  any  good.  He  might  get  a  message  there  all 
right,  but  he's  got  to  have  something  more  than 
vibrations  to  get  himself  there.  You  see  this  ain't 
any  matrimonial  excursion.  We  ain't  got  any 


84  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

preacher  along,  and  Biff's  license  don't  cover  that 
sort  of  a  splice.  Emory's  got  a  doctor's  diploma, 
but  that  wouldn't  fit  the  case,  either." 

Mr.  Emory  was  the  Second  Officer  of  the  Billow- 
crest — a  quiet,  unobtrusive  man  whose  love  for  the 
sea  had  led  him  back  to  it  through  devious  ways. 
A  runaway  cabin  boy,  he  had  returned  home  in 
early  manhood  to  become  a  country  doctor,  a  naval 
hospital  surgeon,  a  ship's  doctor  and  officer  by  turns, 
and  was  now  serving  us  in  the  double  capacity  of 
the  last  two. 

"  Anyway,"  concluded  Gale.  "  we've  got  the 
South  Pole  on  hand,  and  I'm  in  favor  of  taking 
things  in  their  turn.  You  can't  afford  to  get  in 
Macarony's  fix  just  now.  We'll  need  you  when 
we  get  down  there  below  the  Horn.  Besides  we're 
a  long  ways  from  shore,  and  the  water  here's  full 
of  sharks." 

The  last  was  certainly  true.  A  black  knife-like 
fin  at  that  instant  cut  the  water  below  us,  and  the 
swish  of  a  steel-like  tail  as  it  disappeared  made  me 
shudder. 

"  That  chap  seems  to  be  following  us,"  com 
mented  Gale,  "  they  say  it  means  a  death  aboard, 
but  I  think  it's  more  likely  he's  after  the  garbage. 
'Twouldn't  be  a  good  time  to  swim,  would  it?  " 

He  walked  away  and  left  me  leaning  over  the 
rail.  T  thought  his  advice  kindly,  on  the  whole  en- 


ADMONITION  AND  COUNSEL.       85 

couraging,  and  made  up  my  mind  to  remember  it. 
I  wondered  if  Ferratoni  had  really  spoken  to  Edith 
Gale.  "  Poor  fellow,"  I  thought,  "  it  must  have 
been  the  glamour  of  the  tropic  night  that  made  his 
ideal  seem  real  to  him  for  the  moment."  And  this 
I  still  believe  to  have  been  the  case ;  but  what  it  was 
he  said  that  night  to  Edith  Gale,  or  just  what  she 
replied,  I  shall  never  know. 


X. 

CAPTAIN  DIFFER  IS  ASSISTED  BY  THE  PAMPEIRO. 

SOUTHWARD,  and  still  southward. 

We  crossed  the  equator  under  light  steam,  for 
there  was  no  wind  and  it  was  too  warm  to  lie  be 
calmed,  even  in  that  mystical,  lotus-breathing  sea. 

Our  world  was  turned  around,  now.  We  were 
going  back  to  the  year's  beginning,  and  springtime 
lay  at  the  end  of  our  bowsprit.  The  Big  Dipper 
and  the  North  Star  were  ours  no  longer ;  the  South 
ern  Cross  had  become  our  beacon  and  our  hope. 
The  sun  and  moon  were  still  with  us,  but  even  these 
had  fallen  behind  and  it  was  to  the  northward  now 
that  we  turned  for  noonday. 

Gradually  the  glorious  sunsets  of  the  lower 
tropics  faded  into  a  semblance  of  those  we  had 
known  in  our  own  land.  It  was  no  longer  quite 
comfortable  on  deck  without  wraps.  An  April 
quality  had  come  into  the  air,  and  we  grew 
presently  to  realize  that  we  were  entering  rapidly 
into  what  was,  to  us,  the  curious  anomaly  of  an 

October  spring. 
86 


THE  PAMPEIRO.  87 

To  me  it  was  all  pure  enjoyment.  It  seemed 
that  I  could  never  look  at  the  sea  enough,  and  often 
I  got  Edith  Gale  to  help  me.  And  Ferratoni  too, 
sometimes,  for  with  the  cooler  weather  and  more 
temperate  skies  he  had  become  quite  himself  again. 

The  first  frost  in  the  air  seemed  a  glacial  feeling 
to  us,  and  set  us  to  talking  with  renewed  interest  of 
the  Far  South  and  the  lands  and  peoples  we  had 
undertaken  to  discover.  I  felt  sure  we  were  ex 
travagant  in  some  of  our  expectations.  The  tales 
we  had  read  led  us  to  hope  for  marvels  in  the  way 
of  mechanical  progress,  and  we  treated  ourselves 
to  flying  machines  and  heaven  only  knows  what 
other  luxuries.  In  the  end,  T  discouraged  flying 
machines.  I  said  that  if  these  were  a  fact  with  the 
Antarcticans.  they  would  have  come  to  us  long 
since.  I  said  also  that  we  must  not  build  our  antic 
ipations  too  big,  but  base  everything  on  calm  reason 
and  sound  logic.  It  was  more  than  possible.  I 
admitted,  that  the  Antarcticans  had  made  some  ad 
vancements  in  mechanism  that  were  unknown  to 
us,  but  on  the  whole  I  thought  we  would  hold  our 
own  at  the  next  world's  exhibition. 

It  had  been  Chauncey  Gale's  intention  to  touch  at 
one  of  the  large  South  American  ports  for  a  little 
holiday,  and  to  procure  a  few  articles  needed  in  the 
construction  department  below  stairs.  This  idea, 
however,  was  now  discouraged  by  the  officers,  who 


88  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

believed  that  a  number  if  not  all  of  the  crew  would 
desert  the  ship  at  the  first  opportunity. 

"  Why  not  let  them  go?  "  I  had  asked,  when  we 
were  talking  the  matter  over,   "  and   ship  a   new 


crew 


Into  the  Captain's  off  eye  there  came  the  twist  of 
indifferent  scorn  usually  accorded  to  my  sugges 
tions. 

"  Yes,"  he  growled,  "  and  get  a  gang  from  some 
crimp  who  would  load  'em  onto  us  dead  drunk,  to 
cut  our  throats  as  soon  as  they  got  sober.  I  know 
South  American  crews — I've  helped  kill  some  of 
'em — I  don't  want  any  more." 

I  was  silent.  I  didn't  know  what  a  crimp  was, 
and  I  wouldn't  have  asked  for  considerable.  I  have 
since  learned  that  he  is  an  unreliable  person ;  a  bad 
man,  who  sells  worse  whisky  over  a  disreputable 
bar.  from  which  he  unloads  on  sea-captains  any 
thing  human,  and  drunk  enough  to  stand  the  opera 
tion.  His  place  is  a  sort  of  clearing  house,  and  the 
crimp  has  a  syndicate  or  trust,  as  it  were,  with  the 
captain  at  his  mercy. 

We  altered  our  plans,  therefore,  and  turned  our 
course  more  directly  southward,  toward  the  Falk 
land  Islands.  We  were  off  the  River  de  la  Plata  at 
the  time,  sailing  leisurely  along  under  a  blue  sky. 
with  the  fair  weather  that  had  followed  us  most 
of  the  way  from  New  York.  The  sailors  had  ex- 


THE  PAMPEIRO.  89 

pected  we  would  put  into  Rio  Janeiro  or  one  of  the 
ports  farther  down,  but  now  that  we  had  passed 
below  Montevideo  and  were  standing  out  to  sea, 
they  knew  we  were  not  to  touch  land  again. 

I  was  leaning  over  the  rail  after  the  interview  in 
the  cabin,  puzzling  about  crimps,  and  looking  at  the 
shark — or  one  just  like  him — who  still  followed  us, 
when  I  heard  Mr.  Emory,  who  was  on  watch,  order 
the  men  up  into  the  shrouds  to  shorten  sail.  I  did 
not  see  why  this  should  be  done,  for  the  sky  was 
blue,  dotted  here  and  there  with  small  woolly 
clouds  that  showed  only  a  tendency  to  skurry  about 
a  little,  like  frisking  lambs.  Perhaps  the  men  didn't 
understand,  either,  for  the  bosen.  Frenchy,  blew  his 
whistle  presently  and  they  left  their  work  about 
half  finished,  and  came  down.  Then  they  gathered 
in  a  group  at  the  bow  and  I  saw  Mr.  Emory  go 
forward  and  talk  earnestly  to  Frenchy,  who  seemed 
excited  and  gesticulated  at  the  men.  the  cabin,  him 
self  and  the  world  in  general.  Mr.  Emory  left  him 
after  a  few  moments  and  disappeared  into  the  cabin, 
where  I  knew  the  Captain  and  Edith  Gale  were 
matched  in  a  rubber  of  whist  against  the  Admiral 
and  Ferratoni,  who  had  been  coerced  into  learning 
the  game. 

I  left  my  place  at  the  ship's  side.  I  did  not  be 
lieve  in  the  old  shark  superstition,  and  I  had  little 
respect  for  a  creature  that  would  follow  a  ship 


90  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

thirty-five  hundred  miles  for  table-scraps  when  he 
could  get  a  fish  dinner  any  time  for  the  trouble  of 
catching  it.  I  did  want  to  know  about  the  men, 
though — why  they  had  been  taking  in  sail,  and  why 
they  had  quit  and  gathered  in  a  group  over  the 
forecastle.  Mr.  Emory  was  talking  to  Captain 
Biffer  when  I  came  in. 

'  They  refuse  to  obey  orders,"  he  was  saying, 
"  unless  we  turn  around  and  put  into  Montevideo. 
They  claim  they  need  more  clothing  for  the  cold 
weather  south.  The  sky  looks  rather  queer,  and  I 
set  them  to  reefing  down  so's  to  be  ready  for  one 
of  those  Pampeiros  that  Mr.  Larkins  says  come  up 
in  a  minute  down  here.  When  they  got  about  half 
through,  Frenchy  stopped  them.  They're  out  for 
ward,  now." 

"  Did  you  tell  them  we  had  plenty  of  warm 
clothing  aboard?  "  asked  Gale. 

"  I  told  them.  It  isn't  the  clothing.  They 
simply  want  to  desert  the  ship." 

"  Is  Mr.  Larkins  on  the  bridge?  "  asked  Captain 
Biffer. 

"  He  comes  on  at  eight  bells — in  about  five  min 
utes,  now." 

"  Very  well ;  go  back  to  the  bridge,  Mr.  Emory 
Fll  deal  with  this  situation."  Then  to  Edith  Gale 
"  Don't  be  alarmed,  ma'am." 

I  risked  a  remark. 


THE  PAMPE1RO.  91 

"  Is  this  your  first  strike,  Captain?  "  I  ventured. 

His  eye  fixed  me  grimly. 

"  We  don't  call  it  that  at  sea,"  he  said,  "  we  call 
it  mutiny !  " 

The  word  rather  startled  me,  but  I  followed  him 
out  on  deck,  as  did  the  others.  No  one  could 
remain  in  the  cabin  with  a  thing  like  that  going  on 
outside.  The  men  were  about  as  we  had  left  them 
—the  bosen,  Frenchy,  somewhat  in  front  of  the 
others.  He  was  a  villain  and  a  traitor,  but  he  was 
not  without  bravado. 

"  We  haf  not  been  well  treat !  "  he  began,  "  we 
haf  been  deceive.  We " 

He  paused.  The  Captain  had  drawn  a  bead  on 
him  with  the  eye  he  most  frequently  used  on  me. 
With  the  other  he  took  aim  at  the  group  behind, 
and  every  man  of  them  felt  himself  singled  out,  and 
quailed.  I  could  see  them  beginning  to  shrink  and 
wither  even  before  he  said  a  word.  He  began  by 
gently  reminding  them  of  the  usual  lightness  of 
their  employment  and  the  continued  excellence  of 
their  bill-of-fare ;  then  in  good  sooth  he  opened  up. 

It  was  like  the  breaking  loose  at  Manila.  I  had 
known  that  Biffer  had  a  way  with  his  English,  but 
I  never  realized  until  that  moment  what  he  could 
do  when  he  tried.  They  didn't  need  any  warm 
clothes,  now.  Everything  he  called  them  was  red 
hot  and  fitted  as  if  they  had  grown  to  it.  Why, 


92  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

they  fairly  shrivelled,  and  whenever  anything  he 
said  hit  the  deck  it  smoked. 

A  cloud  of  what  appeared  to  be  genuine  smoke 
came  drifting  across  our  bows  just  then,  and  the  air 
had  grown  strangely  hot,  but  nobody  seemed  to 
notice  it.  I  think  we  unconsciously  attributed 
these  things  to  the  Captain's  artillery.  The  men 
were  huddled  and  Frenchy  alone  was  still  defiant. 
His  case  was  desperate  and  he  was  a  desperate  man. 
He  made  a  step  forward — perhaps  he  thought  the 
men  would  follow  him — a  movement  that  a  second 
later  would  have  been  a  spring  at  the  Captain's 
throat.  One  hand  he  held  close  to  his  side  and  in  it 
something  gleamed. 

There  was  an  instant  of  dead  silence,  then — just 
above  our  heads — 

"All  hands  aloft  to  shorten  sail!  The  P am- 
peiro!" 

Everybody  looked  up.  Officer  Larkins  had  come 
on  the  bridge  and  his  rich  voice  rang  out  like  a 
clarion  peal.  Frenchy  stopped.  The  men  sprang 
into  life.  They  were  ready  enough  to  obey,  now, 
but  it  was  too  late! 

I  had  seen  cyclones  in  the  West,  but  the  Pampeiro 
is  different.  From  the  smoke  across  our  bow  there 
came  a  lurid  flash,  and  thunder  that  seemed  to  hit 
every  part  of  the  vessel  at  once.  I  heard  the  smash 
ing  of  wood  and  ripping  of  canvas  overhead,  and 


••Then,  somebody  was  clinging  to  me." — Page  93. 


THE  PAMPEIRO.  93 

just  in  front  of  me  I  saw  a  great  wave  come  pour 
ing  over  the  ship's  side.  Somebody  seized  my 
hand  and  there  was  a  startled  cry  of  my  name. 
Then  somebody  was  clinging  to  me — somebody 
that  I  was  holding  close  and  helping  into  the  cabin. 
In  the  half  blackness  I  saw  that  Chauncey  Gale  and 
Ferratoni  were  just  behind.  The  cabin  was  dark 
and  the  ship  pitching  violently. 

It  was  all  over  in  ten  minutes.  The  vessel  still 
rolled,  but  the  storm  had  passed.  Zar,  who  had 
been  napping  when  the  Pampeiro  struck,  came  run 
ning  in  to  her  mistress. 

'  You  po'  HT  lam',  how  wet  you  is!  "  she  said, 
"  an'  how  yo'  heart  beat — so  frightened!  " 

She  bore  off  her  charge,  and  the  rest  of  us  took 
account  of  stock. 

We  found  we  had  lost  some  sail — a  top-mast — 
several  steamer  chairs,  and  one  man — Frenchy — 
who  had  been  directly  in  the  path  of  the  wave. 

'  That's  what  that  shark  meant,"  said  Chauncey 
Gale  solemnly,  "he  won't  follow  us  any  more. 
And  say,  Biff,  it  was  worth  the  price  of  admission 
to  hear  you  comb  those  fellows  down.  By  the 
great  corner-stone,  but  you  did  it  beautiful!" 

On  the  whole  there  were  compensations.  We 
had  seen  a  Pampeiro,  for  one  thing,  and  we  had 
got  rid  of  a  mutiny ;  a  disturbing  element  had  been 
removed  and  an  old  superstition  had  been  con- 


94  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

firmed.  Altogether,  everybody  was  satisfied,  in 
cluding  the  shark. 

But  to  me  had  come  an  added  joy.  In  the  mo 
ment  of  danger  it  was  to  me  that  Edith  Gale  had 
turned. 

That  night  we  walked  the  deck  together.  The 
sky  was  clear  and  black  again,  though  the  sea  was 
still  billowy,  and  there  was  a  chill  head- wind  which, 
with  our  damaged  rigging,  necessitated  the  use  of 
steam. 

We  walked  back  to  the  stern,  and  leaning  over 
looked  down  at  the  surge  boiling  up  from  the  screw 
beneath.  Like  a  huge  serpent  it  twisted  away  into 
the  night,  showing  a  white  coil  here  and  there 
as  it  vanished  in  the  shoreless  dark  behind.  A 
mighty  awe  came  upon  us.  Face  to  face  with  the 
vastness  of  the  universe,  we  were  overpowered  by 
that  dread  loneliness  which  lies  between  the  stars. 

By  and  by  I  told  her  of  the  man  sailing  around 
the  world  in  a  little  boat,  alone.  She  would  not  let 
me  dwell  upon  it.  Then  I  said  I  had  thought  of 
doing  it  myself. 

"  You  must  never  do  it,"  she  shuddered.  "  prom 
ise  me  that  you  never  will." 

There  had  never  been  the  slightest  danger  of  my 
doing  it,  and  never  would  be,  but  it  did  not  seem 
strange  that  I  should  promise. 


XL 

IN     GLOOMY     SEAS. 

IN  entering  the  waters  below  Cape  Horn  it  had 
been  my  plan  to  continue  southward  not  farther 
than  the  northern  extremity  of  the  South  Shetland 
Islands,  thence  to  bear  off  in  a  southwesterly  course 
until  the  outer  edge  of  the  field — or  pack-ice — had 
been  reached.  This  ice  fringe  would,  I  believed, 
begin  somewhat  north  of  the  Antarctic  Circle,  not 
lower  than  the  sixty-fifth  parallel — possibly  much 
higher.  It  would  recede  before  the  warm  sun  of 
December — the  month  answering  to  our  northern 
June.  My  continued  purpose  was  to  creep  westward 
along  the  edge  of  the  ice-pack,  examining  every 
foot  of  the  way,  in  the  hope  of  finding  a  warm 
northerly  flowing  current,  of  the  sort  that  Borchgre- 
vink  had  reported.  Such  a  current  would  afford  a 
possible  entrance  to  the  frozen  expanses  surrounding 
the  Antarctic  Continent — perhaps  guide  us  to  the 
very  gateway  of  the  continent  itself.  Failing  to 
find  a  passage  sooner,  we  would  continue  westward 

95 


96  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

to  the  coast  of  Victoria  Land,  and  endeavor  to 
reach  our  destination  by  following  the  warm  cur 
rent  already  reported  by  Borchgrevink. 

I  was  rather  surprised  at  Captain  Biffer's  hearty 
approval  of  this  outline.  I  believe  now  he  was  of 
the  opinion  that  a  few  weeks  along  the  edge  of  the 
pack,  with  perhaps  a  little  squeeze  here  and  there, 
would  satisfy  Chauncey  Gale's  ambition  for  Ant 
arctic  conquest,  and  that  the  Billowcrest  would  be 
ordered  north  for  a  cruise  in  the  Pacific,  in  the  di 
rection  of  more  friendly  latitudes. 

For  the  present,  therefore,  we  continued  directly 
southward — very  slowly,  for  we  were  still  full  early 
— keeping  well  off  the  stormy  coast  of  Patagonia, 
and  to  the  eastward  of  the  Falkland  Islands. 
These  we  sighted  one  morning,  and  ran  close  in  to 
get  a  glimpse  of  inhabited  land  once  more  before 
plunging  into  the  vastness  of  unknown  and  unpeo 
pled  seas.  It  was  a  bleak  shore,  and  perhaps  re 
minded  Mr.  Larkins  of  his  native  Newfoundland, 
where  the  conditions  were  somewhat  similar.  He 
gazed  solemnly  at  the  forbidding  coast  along 
which  there  showed  but  meager  signs  of  foliage. 

"  Thim's  nootmig  threes,"  he  said,  at  last,  wav 
ing  at  the  stunted  vegetation  which  we  were  in 
specting  through  the  glasses,  and  upon  which  we 
had  been  commenting. 

Edith  Gale  protested 


IN  GLOOMY  SEAS.  97 

"  Oh,  Mr  Larkins !  Nutmeg  trees  don't  grow  in 
this  cold  latitude!" 

"  Yis,  ma'am, — wooden  nootmigs.  The  people 
ship  'em  to  the  shtates." 

"And  that  long,  smooth  rock  running  down; 
what's  that,  Mr.  Larkins?" 

"  That's  a  seals'  shlidy-down.  The  seals, 
ma'am,  get  out  there  and  shoot  the  shoots.  Many's 
the  time  I've  watched  them  in  Newfoundland.  I 
shouldn't  wonder  if  the  bake-apple  grows  over 
there,  too,"  he  added,  reflectively. 

"  Baked  apple !  Do  apples  grow  already  baked 
in  Newfoundland,  Mr.  Larkins?" 

"  Not  baked  apple,  but  bake-apple,  ma'am.  A 
bit  of  a  foine  yellow  berry  that  grows  on  the  top 
of  a  shlip  of  a  shtalk,  so  high  "  —(holding  his  hand 
down  to  within  a  foot  of  the  deck) — "  one  berry  to 
the  shtalk,  ma'am,  and  delishuous,  my  worrd! 
And  the  bake-apple  jam!  "  Mr  Larkins  closed  his 
eyes  and  wagged  his  head  in  a  manner  to  indicate 
that  life  without  bake-apple  jam  was  but  a  poor 
shift,  at  best.  "  The  bake-apple,  is  it!  "  he  contin 
ued.  "  Oh,  but,  Miss,  you  must  never  die  without 
tasting  the  bake-apple!" 

There  was  something  about  Mr.  Larkins' s  man 
ner  that  compelled  faith  in  this  unknown  fruit, 
which  ordinarily  we  would  have  regarded  as  a 
pleasant  myth  of  his  own.  We  caught  a  measure 


98  THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

of  his  enthusiasm.  We  wanted  to  see  the  mysteri 
ous  golden  berry  that  grew  one  on  a  stalk,  and  had 
we  not  been  on  our  way  to  find  the  South  Pole,  I 
believe  we  might  have  gone  in  pursuit  of  the  bake- 
apple. 

And  now  we  were  indeed  getting  well  to  the 
southward.  The  sun  though  on  its  upward  incline 
had  fallen  far  behind.  Our  days  became  long  spec 
tral  cycles  broken  only  by  brief  periods  of  luminous 
twilight,  and  the  glacial  feeling  in  the  air  was  no 
longer  a  quality  of  our  imagination.  Against  the 
chill  wind  that  came  over  our  bow  we  tacked  but 
leisurely.  Gradually,  as  we  should,  we  were  ac 
quiring  the  taste  for  Antarctic  cold,  and  daily  the 
fascination  of  it,  and  of  the  lonely  seas  around  and 
about,  grew  upon  us, 


XII. 

WHERE  CAPTAIN  BIFFER  REVISES  SOME  OPINIONS. 

I  WENT  up  on  the  bridge  one  morning  to  find 
Captain  Differ  gazing  intently  through  the  glass  at 
some  distant  object. 

"  There's  your  South  Shetlands,"  he  announced, 
as  I  approached,  "  Elephant  Island,  I  should  say. 
Looks  pretty  cold  to  me." 

I  did  not  reply  for  a  moment,  but  stood  look 
ing  out  over  the  black  tossing  waters  that  lie  be 
low  Cape  Horn.  Somewhere  it  was,  in  this  cold 
expanse,  that  my  uncle's  vessel  was  believed  to  have 
gone  down.  Here,  amid  the  crash  of  storm  and 
surge,  she  had  been  last  seen,  more  than  twenty 
years  before,  and  here  must  have  perished  :  I  swept 
the  sea  in  every  direction,  as  if  seeking  to  locate  the 
very  spot. 

"  They  used  to  come  to  the  Shetlands  after 
seal,"  continued  the  Captain,  "  and  they  say  there's 
gold  and  precious  stones  on  some  of  'em.  I  never 
saw  anybody  that  got  any,  though.  Too  cold,  I 
guess,  to  look  and  dig  for  'em." 

99 


ioo         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

"  Colder  than  the  Klondike?  " 

"  Klondike !  Well,  I  should  say  so.  There's  a 
warm  current  runs  up  that  way.  I  never  heard  of 
any  warm  currents  down  here  except  the  one  you're 
going  to  find.  Just  take  a  glance  at  that  for  a  cold- 
looking  country." 

I  leveled  the  glass  and  scrutinized  the  blue  out 
line  ahead.  It  was  a  flat-topped,  square  formation, 
and  there  was  a  peculiar  prismatic  glow  about  it 
that  suggested  ice.  I  hesitated  for  some  moments, 
however,  before  risking  a  reply.  At  last  I  was 
convinced. 

"  Yes,  Captain  Differ, "  I  said,  lowering  the  glass, 
"  it  is  pretty  cold — it's  an  iceberg!  " 

Edith  and  Chauncey  Gale,  followed  by  Ferratoni, 
came  up  the  stairs  just  in  time  to  hear  the  Captain's 
reply. 

"An  iceberg!"  he  jeered.  "Well,  I've  seen  a 
good  many  icebergs  up  north,  but  I  never  saw  one 
like  that.  You  mean  an  ice-box.  " 

I  was  quite  calm.  I  could  afford  to  be,  for  I  felt 
that  a  moment  of  triumph  was  at  hand. 

"  Yes,  Captain,"  T  admitted,  "  you  might  liken 
it  to  that,  I  suppose,  but  it  is  an  iceberg,  neverthe 
less.  The  Arctic  bergs  which  you  have  seen  were 
split  from  glaciers  and  topped  by  tall  pinnacles  and 
turrets.  They  were  more  like  castles  or  cathedrals. 
The  Antarctic  berg  is  usually  a  section  of  that  great 


BIFFER  RE  VISES  OPINIONS.       1 01 

ice  wall  or  barrier  which  we  hope  some  day  to 
reach.  It  is  nearly  always  of  this  general  charac 
ter,  and  is  frequently  crossed  by  blue  horizontal 
lines,  showing  its  stratified  formation  from  year  to 
year." 

Before  I  had  finished  speaking  the  Captain  was 
again  studying  the  object  ahead.  A  light  mist  had 
drifted  across  our  bows,  but  it  lifted  now,  and  the 
square  fortress-like  walls  in  the  distance  shone 
clearly  in  the  morning  sun.  Captain  Biffer  waited 
a  moment  longer.  Then  he  came  down  hand 
somely. 

"You're  right!"  he  said  heartily,  "I  can  see 
those  lines  from  here.  I  know  the  Arctics,"  he 
added,  "  but  I  guess  I'm  all  at  sea  in  these  God-for 
saken  waters !  " 

It  was  a  slight  incident — an  opportune  display  of 
a  bit  of  knowledge  which  any  boy  familiar  with 
Antarctic  literature  might  have  possessed — but  my 
command  of  the  expedition  may  be  said  to  have 
dated  from  that  moment.  The  next  day  fairly 
completed  my  triumph.  Some  large  fragments  of 
surface  ice  had  come  drifting  to  the  ship  and  we 
were  looking  at  them,  over  the  side. 

"  Pancake  ice,"  commented  the  Captain. 
"  We'll  get  all  we  want  of  that,  pretty  soon." 

"  Not  exactly  pancake  ice,  Captain,"  I  observed 
respectfully.  "  A  combination  of  salt-water  pancake 


102         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

with  splinters  of  fresh-water,  barrier  ice.  Those 
clear  spots  are  the  fresh-water  formation." 

Captain  Biffer  regarded  me  a  moment  doubt 
fully.  Then  he  gave  an  order  to  some  sailors. 

"Get  up  a  piece  of  that  ice!"  he  growled,  "I 
want  to  look  at  it." 

A  man  was  lowered  over  the  side,  and  hacked 
off  a  fragment  which  was  hauled  on  board.  The 
Captain  chipped  out  pieces  of  the  white  and  the 
clear  ice  and  tasted  of  them.  Then  he  flung  them 
overboard. 

"  You  win!  "  he  laughed,  "  I'm  out  of  it,  down 
here." 

"What's  that  brown  color  on  it?"  asked  Edith 
Gale. 

"  Dirt,"  said  the  Captain.  "  Comes  from  the 
shore." 

"  Captain,"  I  objected,  "  I'm  sorry,  but  I've  got 
to  differ  with  you  again." 

"  What  is  it,  then,  if  it  ain't  dirt?  "  he  grumbled. 

"  A  growth,"  I  replied,  "  a  plant — at  least,  I 
think  it  is.  I  can't  be  sure,  for  I  have  never  seen 
it  before,  but  former  explorers  have  reported  an 
algse  as  giving  such  an  appearance  to  old  ice,  and 
I  think  I  can  show  that  this  is  what  they  found." 

I  ran  down  to  my  stateroom,  and  presently  re 
turned  with  a  powerful  microscope — a  treasure 
from  boyhood.  I  placed  it  upon  a  small  table  and 


DIFFER  REVISES  OPINIONS.       105 

putting  a  bit  of  the  brown  color  on  a  slide  adjusted 
the  lenses.  Then  I  beckoned  to  the  Captain.  He 
came  and  squinted  into  the  glass  steadily  for  a  mo 
ment. 

"Humph!  seaweed!"  he  commented.  "Well, 
I'll  be —  Say,  look  here,  this  is  your  ocean,  and 
your  expedition — you  can  have  'em !  " 

You  see,  it  was  my  innings.  Theoretically  I 
knew  more  of  this  part  of  the  world  than  any  one 
on  board,  and  theory  was  about  all  we  had  now  to 
go  on.  I  could  see  that  Chauncey  Gale  was 
pleased.  I  suppose  it  had  not  always  been  easy  to 
stand  for  me  against  the  Captain's  poor  opinion, 
and  he  felt  that  in  some  measure  now  he  had  been 
justified.  Edith  Gale,  too,  was  not  made  less 
happy  by  these  incidents,  and  the  sailors,  taking 
their  cue  from  their  chief  officer,  paid  me  an  added 
and  daily  increasing  respect.  True,  the  Captain 
continued  to  navigate  the  ship,  but  in  a  general 
way  I  directed  our  course  and  experiments,  and  was 
regarded  more  and  more  as  authority  in  matters  of 
discussion  and  dispute. 

High  up  on  the  mainmast  I  had  constructed  for 
me  a  crow's  nest,  or  lookout,  from  which  to  make 
observations.  Chauncey  Gale  attended  to  this,  and 
did  it  well,  as  he  did  everything  he  undertook. 
It  was  a  stout,  comfortable  barrel  arrangement, 
capable  of  holding  three  persons  if  necessary. 


104         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

When  it  was  done  I  viewed  it  from  below  with  in 
terest  and  misgivings.  I  had  never  been  aloft,  and 
I  felt  that  an  error  in  reaching  my  perch  might 
conclude  the  expedition.  The  eyes  of  the  ship  were 
upon  me,  however,  and  it  would  not  do  to  hesi 
tate. 

With  a  faint  but  resolute  heart,  I  began  the  as 
cent.  I  did  not  dare  to  look  back,  and  when  at  last 
I  found  myself  safely  inside  the  snug  box,  I  was  a 
bit  weak  and  trembly,  but  swelling  with  triumph. 

"  Let  me  in,  too,  please!  " 

I  looked  down  at  my  feet.  It  was  Edith  Gale, 
who  had  run  lightly  up  behind  me.  I  concealed 
any  pride  I  may  have  had  in  my  own  accomplish 
ment  and  drew  her  up. 

"  How  pale  you  are,"  she  said,  "  are  you  ill?  " 

"  No,  oh  no,  it's  the — the  excitement,  I  think." 

We  leaned  over  and  waved  to  those  below. 
They  waved  back  at  us  and  cheered. 

"How's  the  weather  up  there?"  called  Gale. 

"Cold,"  I  said.  "Feels  like  the  North  Pole!" 
(It  was,  in  fact,  about  zero  at  the  time,  but  we  did 
not  mind  it  in  the  least.) 

"What's  the  matter  with  the  South  Pole?" 
This  from  Captain  Biffer. 

"Hot,  there!"   I  yelled. 

The  Captain  laughed. 

"  Well,"  he  shouted,  "  you're  right  about  some 


BIFFER  RE  VISES  OPINIONS.       105 

things,  but  you'll  find  that  barrel  a  parlor  stove 
compared  with  the  South  Pole." 

Edith  Gale  leveled  a  glass  toward  the  southern 
horizon.  We  were  well  down  in  the  sixties,  now. 
Icebergs  and  floating  pack-ice  had  become  common. 
To  the  southward  lay  mystery  that  in  some  weird 
form  might  at  any  moment  rise  above  the  somber 
waters.  Presently  she  handed  me  the  glass. 

"  See  if  you  make  out  anything,"  she  said. 

I  looked  steadily,  and  at  first  saw  nothing. 
Then,  low  down,  and  stretching  from  rim  to  rim 
across  our  watery  world,  far-off  and  faint,  rising, 
falling,  lifting  and  disappearing,  I  saw  a  thin,  un 
certain,  glittering  edge — the  ice-pack! 

It  was  our  turn,  now,  to  cheer.  Captain  Biffer 
ran  up  to  see  and  verify.  By  nightfall  (the  radiant 
dusk  fell  late  now,  for  it  was  November,  and 
the  sun  shone  till  ten  o'clock)  we  were  in  the 
midst  of  loose,  grinding  ice — the  edge  of  the  pack. 

The  second  stage  of  the  Great  Billowcrest  Expe 
dition  had  begun. 


XIII. 

IN     THE    "  FIGHTING-TOP." 

OUR  crow's  nest  became  at  once  the  nucleus  of 
the  expedition.  Edith  Gale  named  it  our  "  fight 
ing-top  "  because  of  the  fierce  discussions  that  took 
place  there. 

This  warfare  concerning  the  new  objects  that  ap 
peared  daily  on  our  horizon  was  almost  continual, 
and  when  not  actively  engaged  in  the  combats,  I 
was  supposed  to  adjust  them.  They  occurred  most 
frequently  between  Edith  Gale  and  her  father,  both 
of  whom  delighted  in  our  lookout,  and  remained 
with  me  there  a  greater  part  of  the  time,  in  spite  of 
bitter  cold,  and  even  the  wet  freezing  discomfort 
that  often  swept  in  about  us. 

A  paragraph  of  Borchgrevink's  came  back  to  me 
now — the  fulness  of  which  I  had  not  before  real 
ized.  "  Only  from  the  crow's  nest,"  he  says,  "  can 
one  fully  appreciate  the  supernatural  charm  of  Ant 
arctic  scenery.  Up  there  you  seem  lifted  above  the 
pettiness  and  troubles  of  everyday  life.  Your  hori 
zon  is  wide,  and  from  your  high  position  you  rule 
the  little  world  below  you.  Onward,  onward 

stretch  the  ice-fields,  the  narrow  channels  about  the 
1 06 


IN  THE  "  FIGHTING-TOP."         107 

ship  are  opened  and  closed  again  by  the  current  and 
wind,  and  as  you  strain  your  sight  to  the  utmost  to 
find  the  best  places  for  the  vessel  to  penetrate,  your 
eyes  wander  from  the  ship's  bow  out  toward  the  ho 
rizon,  where  floes  and  channels  seem  to  form  one 
dense  vast  ice-field.  Ice  and  snow  cover  spars  and 
ropes,  and  everywhere  are  perfect  peace  and  si 
lence." 

I  have  quoted  this  because  we  felt  it  all.  and  he 
has  given  it  to  us  so  much  better  than  I  could  say  it. 
No  ordinary  attempt  of  the  elements  could  dismay 
us,  or  chill  the  exalted  joy  of  our  high,  swinging 
perch.  From  our  fighting-top  we  looked  away  to 
the  south,  across  leagues  of  lifting,  shifting,  grind 
ing  ice — split  here  and  there  by  long,  black  water 
ways — studded  by  iridescent  island  bergs — garish 
with  every  splendor  of  the  spectrum,  and  blending 
at  last  into  that  overwhelming  fathomless  hue  of 
the  South,  Antarctic  Violet. 

New  wonders  were  constantly  appearing  before 
and  below  us.  From  our  lofty  vantage  we  dis 
cussed  them  fully,  and  photographed  them  when 
they  came  within  range.  With  the  luminous  icy 
mist  about  us,  there  was  still  a  gratification  and  a 
rapture,  and  when  it  passed  and  the  sun  returned,  a 
new  blazing  enchantment  lay  all  below  us,  even  to 
the  northward,  where,  beyond  the  dazzle  of  drift 
ing  ice-pans,  rolled  the  black,  uplifting  sea» 


1 08         THE  GREA  T  WHITE  WA  Y. 

We  observed  and  studied  the  haze  or  "  blink  "  in 
the  sky  that  always  indicates  the  presence  of  ice, 
and  the  black,  or  "  water  "  sky  that  tells  of  an  open 
way — keeping  well  in  among  the  floes,  that  we 
might  not  miss  any  lead  or  northward  drift  that 
would  reveal  our  current  from  the  South. 

I.  did  not  expect  it  for  a  long  distance  yet,  but 
it  was  our  plan  to  leave  no  step  of  the  way  unexam- 
ined,  and  certainly  there  was  plenty  beside  to  repay 
us.  Edith  Gale  seemed  fairly  lost  in  the  color  glo 
ries  of  this  supernatural,  elemental  world.  Chaun- 
cey  Gale  declared  it  was  like  the  Chicago  Fair, 
where  one  could  have  spent  a  lifetime  and  still  not 
have  seen  it  all.  He  made  his  initial  attempt  at 
naming  birds  one  morning  when  a  penguin,  the 
first  we  had  seen,  came  by  on  a  small  pan  of  ice. 
The  bird  regarded  us  solemnly,  and  in  return  we 
laughed  at  him.  Edith  Gale  was  overjoyed  at  his 
arrival. 

"  Now,  Daddy,  what's  that  ?  You  were  going 
to  name  things,  you  know." 

"That,"  replied  Gale  gravely,  "is  a  'Billy 
Watson.'  He  looks  exactly  like  a  fellow  I  used 
to  know  by  that  name,  when  he  had  his  dress  suit 
on." 

We  didn't  consider  it  much  of  a  name,  but  it  had 
a  sticking  quality,  and  all  penguins  became  "  Billy 
Watsons  "  to  us  thereafter.  There  were  "  Big  Bil- 


IN  THE  "  FIGHTING-TOP." 


109 


ly  Watsons  "  and  "  Little  Billy  Watsons."  Also, 
some  that  had  feathers  in  their  hats,  and  these  we 
called  "  Dandy  Billy  Watsons."  When  we  came  to 
some  sea-leopards  and  crab-eating  seals  he  tried  his 
hand  again  as  a  naturalist. 


Two  IMPRESSIONS  OF  BILLY  WATSON.     FIRST,  BY  CHAUNCKY  GALE.     SECOND, 
BY  NICHOLAS  CHASE. 


'  Those/'  he  said,  "  are  '  Moon-faced  Mollies.'  " 
But  this  was  regarded  as  a  failure.  Anyhow,  it 
was  my  turn.  The  Captain  had  referred  to  them 
indiscriminately  as  seals,  whereupon  I  produced 
their  true  names  and  my  authority  for  conferring 
them,  thus  adding  another  instalment  to  Mr.  Bif- 
fer's  respect  for  my  scientific  attainments,  which, 
though  slight  enough,  were  sufficient  to  impress 
him  considerably. 

During  these  days  Ferratoni  had  almost  nothing 
to  say.  He  walked  the  deck  for  hours  as  we  pushed 
through  the  drifting  ice,  listening  to  its  crushing 


1 10         THE  GREA  T  WHITE  WA  Y. 

under  the  iron  sheathing  below  and  looking  always 
to  the  south,  as  if  something  lay  there  from  which, 
across  that  wireless,  frozen  waste,  to  him  alone 
came  tidings.  Now  and  then  he  ascended  to  our 
fighting-top  to  peer  still  farther  into  those  polar 
depths.  We  all  felt  very  close  to  creation's  secrets 
here  in  this  primeval  world,  but  we  realized  that 
Ferratoni  was  nearer  to  the  invisible  than  the 
others. 

"  I  feel  sometimes  that  he  can  read  our  very  souls 
and  all  the  mystery  of  the  air,"  Edith  Gale  said  to 
me,  after  one  of  these  visits.  "  When  he  looks  at 
me  I  know  that  I  may  as  well  have  put  my  thoughts 
into  words.  He  believes,  too,  you  know,  that  we 
shall  be  able  to  converse  mentally,  by  and  by,  and  at 
any  distance.  It  would  be  simply  the  chording  of 
the  thought  vibration,  he  says,  and  that  there  is 
really  no  need  of  words — that  they  are  but  a  poor 
medium  at  best,  and.  as  somebody  has  said,  in 
vented  more  to  conceal  thought  than  to  convey  it." 

"  We  shall  have  wordless  telepathy,  then,  instead 
of  wireless  telegraphy,"  I  assented,  "  and  I  believe 
Ferratoni  is  nearer  right  than  most  people  would 
admit.  Why,  when  we  are  up  here  alone  together, 

sometimes,  it  seems  to  me  that  we "  I  hesitated. 

and  she  interrupted  me  rather  hastily. 

'  Yes,  when  we  are  looking  out  at  all  this,  we  arc 
so  often  silent  because  there  are  no  words  to  convey 


IN  THE  "  FIGHTING-TOP."         1 1 1 

it;  but  I  know  what  you  are  thinking  better  than  if 
you  tried  to  tell  it." 

I  do  not  think  this  was  quite  what  I  had  started 
to  say,  but  I  was  grateful  for  the  interruption.  I 
should  doubtless  have  got  into  deep  water  and  diffi 
culties. 

Each  day  the  sun  rose  earlier,  shone  warmer,  and 
set  later.  What  we  referred  to  as  night  no  longer 
bore  even  the  semblance  of  a  night,  and  its  darkest 
hour  was  but  a  brief  period  of  lambent  twilight. 
The  weather  continued  unusually  good  for  the  lati 
tude,  and  Thanksgiving  Day,  on  the  edge  of  the 
Antarctic  Zone,  was  a  complete  golden  cycle.  Af 
ter  a  bounteous  dinner  planned  by  Mr.  Sturritt,  and 
joined  in  by  all  the  officers  of  the  Billowcrest,  we 
ascended  by  turns  to  the  fighting-top  to  look  for  the 
first  time  on  the  midnight  sun.  Captain  Biffer 
came  back  to  the  deck  rather  solemnly. 

"  It's  more  than  likely  we  won't  see  it  again, 
right  away,"  he  announced.  "  If  I'm  not  mis 
taken,  there's  a  blow  coming  off  there  to  the  north 
east." 

The  Captain  was  not  mistaken,  this  time.  With 
in  an  hour  after  midnight  we  were  pitching  in  the 
midst  of  real  darkness,  fearsome  and  impenetrable. 
Icy  waves  were  breaking  over  the  decks  of  the  Bil 
lowcrest,  and  the  crash  of  ice  under  her  hull  was 
terrifying  in  its  deafening  fury. 


112         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

There  was  no  sail  to  take  in,  for  we  were  running 
under  steam  only,  now,  but  the  sailors  had  enough 
to  do  at  first  to  keep  everything  movable  from 
washing  overboard,  and  then,  a  little  later,  them 
selves.  At  each  end  of  the  vessel  the  officers  were 
roaring  out  commands,  and  the  men  striving  to 
obey. 

There  was  no  thought  of  sleep,  of  course,  and 
everybody  was  on  deck  or  in  the  cabins.  Zar  was 
praying  swiftly  and  inclusively  so  as  to  have  every 
body  in  readiness  at  a  moment's  notice,  and  nobody 
discouraged  this  undertaking.  From  stray  bits 
that  came  to  me  now  and  then  above  the  uproar 
T  gathered  that  she  believed  our  Thanksgiving  serv 
ices,  as  well  as  the  expedition  generally,  had  been  of 
a  character  to  provoke  Divine  wrath. 

"  Oh,  Lawd,"  she  howled,  "  what  can  dese  po' 
sinful  people  expect,  a-goin'  a  hop-scotchin'  aroun' 
on  Thanksgivin'  Day,  an'  a-huntin'  fob  a  fool  pole 
in  a  Ian'  wheah  dey  ain'  nuffin  but  ice,  an'  wheah  de 
sun  shine  at  midnight?  What  can  dey  spect, 
Lawd  ?  What  can  dey  spect  ?  " 

As  a  matter  of  fact  we  were  expecting  almost 
anything  at  that  moment,  and  we  were  not  sur 
prised,  or  more  frightened  than  we  had  been,  when 
Captain  Biffer  came  in  and  roared  at  us  that  we 
were  being  driven  into  the  pack! 

"Let  her  go  in!"  yelled  Gale. 


IN  THE  "  FIGHTING-TOP."         113 

"  Be  smashed,  if  we  do.  Go  to  hell  in  five  min 
utes!" 

"Don't  care!  hell  can't  be  worse  than  this!" 

In  the  electric  blaze  of  the  cabin  I  looked  more 
closely  at  Gale.  There  was  a  green  pallor  over  his 
features  that  was  not  due  to  fright.  Even  in  that 
awful  hour  there  came  upon  me  a  proper  and  mali 
cious  joy.  He  was  seasick !  I  did  not  blame  him. 
We  were  rolling  fearfully  and  I  felt  some  discom 
fort,  myself.  But  the  spirit  of  my  ancestors  had 
waxed  strong  now,  and  prevailed.  The  others, 
too,  were  getting  pale,  all  except  Zar,  who  turned  a 
peculiar  blue,  and  discontinued  her  prayer  service. 
The  brawny  stewardess  and  myself  assisted  both 
her  and  her  mistress  to  their  staterooms,  where  1 
spoke  a  reassuring  word  to  Edith  Gale,  and  hast 
ened  back  to  the  others.  But  Gale  and  Ferratoni 
had  both  disappeared,  and  I  saw  them  no  more  dur 
ing  that  fearful  night. 

Plunging  and  battering  we  jammed  our  way  into 
that  mass  of  thundering  ice.  Our  search-lights,  of 
which  we  had  two,  were  kept  going  constantly,  bur 
even  so,  we  were  likely  at  any  moment  to  collide 
with  a  berg  in  that  surging  blackness.  The  sight 
from  the  deck — the  shouting  sea,  with  the  ice  toss 
ing  and  flashing  as  it  was  borne  into  the  angle  of 
our  electric  rays — was  as  the  view  of  a  riotous  in- 
8 


1 14         THE  GREA  T  WHITE  WA  Y. 

ferno  that  was  making  ready  to  crush  us  into  its 
sombre  depths. 

But  by  morning  we  had  penetrated  the  pack  to  a 
point  where  the  violence  beneath  produced  on  the 
surface  only  a  heaving,  groaning  protest  at  our 
presence.  With  the  return  of  light,  I  went  out  to 
view  our  condition,  and  when  I  realized  that  our  in 
vincible  Billowcrest  had  battled  unhurt  through  it 
all,  that  noble  vessel — whatever  may  have  been  her 
faults,  and  in  spite  of  all  disparagement — took  a 
place  in  my  affections  that  was  only  outranked  by 
those  of  her  builder  and  her  mistress.  The  wind 
slackened  in  the  afternoon,  and  with  the  calm  there 
came  clear,  intense  cold.  By  morning  the  great 
ice-floes  about  us  were  cemented  together.  We 
were  frozen  solidly  in  the  pack. 


XIV. 

AN    EXCURSION    AND    AN    EXPERIMENT. 

"  WELL,  here  we  are,"  announced  Captain  Biffer. 
as  we  grouped  together  on  the  deck  to  survey  the 
scene.  "  And  here  we're  likely  to  stay  for  one 
while,  I'm  thinking.  This  is  your  warm  world — 
how  do  you  like  it?  " 

"  Better  than  a  cold  sea,"  I  said,  "  when  there's 
a  northeast  gale  blowing." 

"How  long  do  we  lay  up  here.  Chase?"  asked 
Chauncey  Gale.  "  You're  running  this  excursion." 

I  was  secretly  uneasy,  but  I  made  light  of  the 
situation. 

"  Oh,  this  is  the  usual  thing.  We'll  be  here  a 
day  or  two.  perhaps,  then  the  ice  will  separate 
again,  or  a  lead  form  that  will  let  us  back  to  open 
water.  We  could  hardly  be  shut  in  long  at  this 
season." 

"  I'd  invent  something  to  beat  this  game  if  I  was 
going  to  play  it  regular,"  said  Gale,  then  added. 
"  Great  place  this  to  lay  out  an  addition.  '  Frozen- 
hurst.'  how's  that  for  a  name?  " 

"S 


n6         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

"'  Can  we  go  out  on  the  ice?  "  asked  Edith  Gale. 

"  Of  course,  if  we  are  careful,  and  do  not  go  far 
from  the  ship,"  I  said.  "  We  can  try  our  new  snow- 
shoes." 

"  I  shall  make  the  first  Antarctic  experiment  in 
wireless  communication,"  observed  Ferratoni. 

"  Good  time  to  look  for  the  bake-apple,"  sug 
gested  Mr.  Larkins. 

But  just  here  came  a  sharp  protest  from  Zar. 

"  Yas,  I  sh'd  say  baked  apples!  Well,  I  reckon 
we  jes'  'bout  as  apt  to  fin'  baked  apples  as  anything 
else  in  dis  ref rigidous  country !  Not  much,  my  Miss 
Edith  ain'  gwine  out  on  dat  ol'  humpety,  bow-back 
ice-pon' !  No,  sah!  " 

Zar's  characterization  of  the  sea's  aspect  referred 
to  the  huge  hummocks  and  heaved  appearance  of 
the  ice  in  places.  There  were  also  many  bergs,  ap 
parently  at  no  great  distance,  and  in  spite  of  the  old 
woman's  strenuous  objections,  Edith  Gale  and  I 
planned  to  visit  the  nearest  of  these. 

We  did  so  in  the  afternoon.  Numberless  penguins, 
sea-leopards  and  other  species  of  Antarctic  life 
had  gathered  curiously  about  the  Billowcrest  during 
the  day,  and  some  of  these  waddled  and  floundered 
after  us  when  we  set  out.  We  could  not  make  very 
rapid  progress  with  our  new  foot-gear,  and  for  a 
little  distance  made  an  interesting  spectacle,  with 
our  procession  of  followers  trailing  out  behind. 


From  our  high  vantage  we  could  command  a  vast  circle  of  sunless, 
melancholy  cold." — Page   117. 


AN  EXCURSION  AND  EXPERIMENT.  117 

"  All  hands  and  the  cook  "  gathered  on  the  deck  to 
enjoy  it. 

We  carried  one  of  Ferratoni's  telephones — a  neat, 
compact  little  affair,  with  handles  for  convenience, 
and  from  nearly  a  mile  distant  communicated  with 
the  inventor,  who  had  ascended  to  the  crow's-nest 
for  the  experiment.  It  was  a  successful  trial,  and 
we  believed  it  would  have  been  equally  so  had  the 
distance  been  much  greater. 

Then  we  pushed  in  among  the  silent  bergs,  and 
ascending  by  a  circuitous  path  to  the  battlements  of 
a  great  ice  fortress,  tried  it  again. 

"  Hello,"  I  called,  "  can  you  hear  a  message  from 
the  South  Pole?" 

The  answer  that  came  back  was  as  prompt  as  it 
was  unexpected. 

"  There  is  a  message  in  the  air,"  said  the  voice 
of  Ferratoni.  "It  is  very  close — around  and  about 
us.  Some  day — perhaps  soon — I  shall  hear  it." 

I  repeated  this  to  Edith  Gale,  wonderingly. 

"  What  do  you  suppose  he  means?  "  I  whispered. 

"  You  remember  what  I  told  you  in  the  fighting- 
top,"  she  said.  "  I  am  sure  of  it  now." 

I  did  not  answer,  but  together  our  eyes  followed 
the  white  way  to  the  south. 

A  light  snow  had  fallen  during  the  forenoon, 
and  dull  clouds  were  banked  heavily  against  the 
sky.  From  our  high  vantage  we  could  command 


1 1 8        THE  GREA  T  WHITE  WA  Y. 

a  vast  circle  of  sunless,  melancholy  cold.  Beyond 
this  there  lay  another  horizon,  and  beyond  that  still 
another,  and  yet  another.  In  this  deep  solitude  the 
distant  black  outline  of  the  Billowcrest  marked  our 
only  human  tie. 

A  silence  and  an  awe  fell  upon  us — a  mysterious 
fear  of  this  pale  land  that  was  not  a  land,  but  a  chill 
spectral  semblance,  with  amazing  forces  and  sur 
prising  shapes.  We  descended  hastily  and  set  out 
for  the  ship  without  speaking.  From  among  the 
bergs  the  creeping  gloom  gathered  and  shut  us  in. 
Uncanny  sea-leopards  and  mournful  penguins  re 
garded  us  as  we  hurried  past. 

We  were  clumsy  on  our  snow-shoes,  but  we  con 
sumed  no  unnecessary  time  in  reaching  the  vessel, 
and  not  until  we  were  warmed  and  cheered  by  a 
good  dinner  were  we  altogether  restored.  But  then 
came  weariness,  and  with  the  Billowcrest  now 
moveless  and  silent,  we  realized  that  night  more 
fully  than  ever  before  the  perfect  blessing  of  dream 
less,  Antarctic  sleep. 

And  now  passed  some  days  in  which  I  grew  ever 
more  uneasy,  but  maintained  as  far  as  possible  a 
cheerful  outward  calm.  The  cold  lingered,  and  the 
way  seaward  did  not  open.  Huge  cracks  split  the 
pack  here  and  there,  but  they  did  not  reach  the  Bil 
lowcrest.  Then  came  that  terror  of  all  polar  expedi 
tions — the  ice  pressure — the  meeting  and  closing  in 


AN  EXCURSION  AND  EXPERIMENT.  119 

of  enormous  ice-fields  moving  irresistibly  in  oppo 
site  directions. 

We  were  awakened  rather  rudely  by  a  sudden 
harsh  grinding  below,  and  felt  the  vessel  heave, 
first  to  one  side,  then  to  the  other.  Then  there  was 
an  ominous  rumble,  which  became  a  deafening  roar. 
I  hurried  on  deck,  to  find  that  a  strong  pressure  was 
taking  place,  and  that  we  were  directly  in  its  midst. 
Our  peril  was  great  and  imminent.  I  was  turning 
hastily  toward  the  cabin,  when  Captain  Biffer  ran 
down  the  deck  yelling : 

"  Take  to  the  ice !  Take  to  the  ice !  She's  going 
down!  " 

At  the  same  instant  Chauncey  Gale  hurried  out 
of  the  cabin,  followed  by  Edith  Gale  and  the  others. 
The  sailors  were  skurrying  about  helplessly. 

'To  the  ice!"  roared  the  Captain.  "To  the 
ice !  She's  going  down !  " 

Most  of  us  scrambled  for  the  rail.  If  I  did  not 
do  so  it  was  perhaps  because  there  were  others  in 
my  way.  But  Chauncey  Gale,  his  hand  on  his 
daughter's  arm,  stood  firm. 

"Stop!"  he  shouted.  "Going  down,  nothing! 
She's  going  up!  " 

And  this  was  true.  Everybody  saw  it,  now  it 
was  pointed  out  to  them.  Thanks  to  the  shape  and 
strength  of  her  hull,  the  sturdy  Billowcrest  was 
being  squeezed  and  lifted  bodily  into  the  air,  in- 


120         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

stead  of  being  crushed  like  a  peanut,  as  would  have 
been  the  case  with  an  ordinary  vessel. 

For  ten  minutes  or  more  the  heaving  and  grind 
ing  continued.  Huge  pressure  ridges  formed  on 
every  side,  and  the  ice  world  about  us  was  a  living, 
groaning  agony.  Then  it  seemed  that  there  came 
relief.  The  pack  split  and  thundered  apart  in  every 
direction.  The  Billowcrest  settled  back  into  place, 
and  before  us  lay  a  long  way  of  open  water,  stretch 
ing  northward  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  Our 
steam  was  ready,  and  in  a  very  brief  time  we  were 
on  our  way  back  to  the  sea. 

"  That  was  about  the  tightest  squeeze  I  ever  got 
caught  in,"  observed  Gale,  "  and,  say,  I  didn't  build 
her  for  a  nip  like  that,  but  didn't  the  old  Billow- 
crest  do  noble?  " 

"  Chauncey  Gale,"  I  said,  "  you're  the  best  ship 
builder,  and  the  bravest  man  God  ever  made !  " 

"How  much  do  you  want  to  borrow?"  asked 
Gale,  but  he  said  it  without  bitterness. 


XV. 

AS  REPORTED  BY  MY  NOTE-BOOK. 

^^^^TF  WE  were  more  fearless  now,  we 
A  \  were  also  more  careful.  Our 
II  faith  in  the  Billowcrest  was  com- 

V       I         plete,   but   we  profited  by   experi- 
^^^          /          ence.     At    the   next   indication    of 
'»^^vL        bad    weather,    we    headed    north 
ward    in   time,   and    rode   out    the 
storm  at  sea. 

I  think  Captain  Biffer  had  hoped  that  we  would 
abandon  our  project  after  the  ice  squeeze,  but 
Christmas  Day  found  us  far  to  the  westward,  and 
still  creeping  slowly  along  the  edge  of  the  ice-fields. 
Our  days  were  a  never-ending  glory  now,  for  it 
was  midsummer,  and  of  good  weather  we  were  hav 
ing  far  more  than  we  had  been  led  to  expect.  We 
did  not  need  to  go  to  the  crow's-nest  to  see  the  mid 
night  sun  on  Christmas  Eve,  and  Christmas  Day 
we  celebrated  by  crossing  the  one  hundred  and  for 
tieth  meridian,  and  by  telling,  after  dinner,  where 
we  had  been  and  what  had  happened  to  us  the  year 
before. 

121 


122         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

The  Gales,  with  the  yacht  and  its  present  offi 
cers,  had  been  in  Naples,  where  they  had  met  Ferra- 
toni,  who  was  then  perfecting  his  experiments.  I 
had  been  in  the  interior  of  the  "  States,"  making 
ready  to  drift,  I  knew  not  where.  Now  all  were 
here  together,  in  the  luminous,  and  fantastic  mid 
summer  of  the  farther  South,  seeking  at  my  direc 
tion  a  half  mythical  highway  to  what  might  be  a 
wholly  mythical  destination.  Edith  Gale  had  referred 
to  me  once,  in  jest,  as  a  new  Lochinvai*.  I  said 
that  I  would  strive  to  be  that,  but  there  were  nights 
when  I  woke  and  remembered  what  all  those  men 
of  science  had  said,  and  just  how  they  had  said  it; 
and  on  those  nights  I  trembled  and  weakened  a 
little  at  the  thought  of  the  responsibility  of  life  and 
expenditure  I  had  assumed,  and  might  have  faltered 
still  more,  perhaps,  had  I  not  been  strong  in  my 
determination  to  prove  those  sages  of  the  test-tube 
and  microscope  at  fault. 

Thus  far  we  had  found  no  indication  of  a  warm 
current,  nor,  in  fact,  anything  else  suggestive  of 
warmth  in  the  latitudes  below  the  Antarctic  Circle, 
but,  as  the  books  say,  there  had  been  plenty  to  amuse 
and  instruct.  Our  days  were  a  good  deal  alike,  but 
they  were  never  monotonous.  As  we  approached 
the  point  where  Borchgrevink  had  penetrated  the 
ice-pack,  our  expectations  increased  and  our  pains 
taking  scrutiny  of  each  step  of  the  way  was  re- 


REPORTED  BY  MY  NOTE-BOOK.     123 

doubled.    Perhaps  the  brief  daily  record  of  my  note 
book  will  best  continue  the  narrative  at  this  point. 

Jan.  i.  Still  pushing  westward,  slightly  south. 
The  New  Year  finds  us  at  latitude  68°  12',  longi 
tude  163°  44'.  We  are  going  very  slowly  now, 
barely  thirty  miles  a  day.  The  weather  is  excellent, 
and  seems  very  warm.  I  spend  fifteen  hours  out  of 
the  twenty-four  in  the  fighting-top.  When  I  am 
not  there  we  lie  to,  or  drift.  There  appears  to  be  a 
slight  westward  movement  in  the  ice,  and  we  go 


FROM  MR.  CHASH'S  NOTK-BOOK. 

with  it  during  the  night,  or  rather  while  I  am  asleep, 
for,  of  course,  there  is  no  night  yet.  Plenty  of  life 
here.  Several  sorts  of  whales  appear  in  the  open 
water,  and  penguins  visit  the  ship  daily.  Edith 
Gale  declares  that  some  of  them  are  the  same  ones 
that  we  first  saw,  and  that  they  have  taken  a  fancy 
to  us. 


124        THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

Jan.  2.  We  cannot  be  far  now  from  Victoria 
Land,  but  still  no  sign  of  the  warm  current. 
True,  Borchgrevink  pushed  thirty-eight  days 
through  the  pack-ice  before  he  came  to  this  current, 
but  these  things  vary  in  different  years,  and  it  is 
more  than  likely  that  we  are  already  nearing  the 
point  where  he  emerged  from  the  pack.  The  slight 
drift  we  have  noticed  continues  and  appears  to  bend 
to  the  south  as  we  approach  the  coast. 

Jan.  3.  Edith  and  Chauncey  Gale  were  with  me 
almost  constantly  to-day  in  the  crow's-nest.  The 
sailors  to-night  claim  they  can  "  smell  "  land.  As 
we  approach  it,  life  becomes  much  more  frequent, 
though  not  more  cheerful.  It  is  either  white  or 
black,  and  unmusical.  The  chant  of  the  seals  is 
depressing,  and  the  chorus  of  the  penguins  a  thing 
to  be  avoided.  However,  they  always  amuse  us, 
and  we  appear  to  furnish  entertainment  for  them. 
Also,  they  are  fond  of  good  music,  perhaps  because 
they  cannot  make  it  themselves.  Edith  Gale  played 
the  piano  last  night,  and  a  whole  flock  of  "  Billy 
Watsons  "  in  dress  suits  crowded  on  deck  to  lis 
ten  to  it.  Probably  they  thought  it  a  musicale  given 
for  their  benefit.  The  sea-leopards  and  crab-eaters 
gathered  about  the  ship,  too,  and  would  have  come 
on  board  if  they  had  been  able.  Mr.  Sturritt  is 
experimenting  with  all  of  these  from  a  food  stand- 


REPORTED  BY  MY  NOTE-BOOK.     125 

point,  and  the  sailors  are  collecting  many  skins  and 
feathers. 

Jan.  5.  Borchgrevink  must  have  found  very  dif 
ferent  conditions,  indeed,  from  the  westward,   for 


T\  rnrt\v\cT\c  "Re  c s  ?t  i  o  N 


AN  IMPRESSION  BV  CHAUNCEY  GALB. 


we  are  at  latitude  70°,  or  very  near  it,  and  we  have 
not  yet  found  it  necessary  to  penetrate  the  ice.  This 
current  that  now  appears  to  drift  us  to  the  south 
west  may  have  something  to  do  with  it,  or  it  may  be 


1 26         THE  GREA  T  WHITE  WA  Y. 

that  this  is  a  warmer  summer,  hence  the  different 
conditions. 

Jan.  6.  This  current,  if  it  is  a  current,  puzzles  us 
all.  It  is  not  noticeable  on  the  surface,  where  the 
ice  moves  with  the  wind  (I  have  even  fancied  to 
day  when  there  was  no  wind  that  the  floes  drifted 
northward),  but  seems  to  grip  us  from  beneath  and 
push  us  slowly,  very  slowly,  but  surely,  to  the  south 
west.  Gale  said  to-day  it  was  like  the  illness, 
"  grip."  We  were  sure  we  had  it,  but  we  didn't 
know  just  where. 

Jan.  8.  Whatever  this  current  is,  it  is  carrying 
us  in  the  right  direction.  It  has  brought  us  safely 
through  the  waters  explored  by  Sir  James  Ross 
fifty  years  ago,  and  where  pack-ice  delayed  Borch- 
grevink  thirty-eight  days.  The  Captain  thinks 
it  a  slight  undercurrent  that  curves  in  around  Pos 
session  Island,  which  we  shall  see  to-morrow,  if  all 
goes  well.  We  are  all  eager  for  the  first  sight  of 
Antarctic  land.  Again  to-day  there  was  no  wind, 
and  both  Edith  Gale  and  I  held  that  the  surface 
ice  was  drifting  to  the  north,  but  the  others  thought 
it  only  seemed  so  because  of  our  movement  to  the 
southward.  We  did  not  change  our  opinion,  how 
ever.  It  is  curious,  but  we  almost  invariably  agree. 
It  is  as  if  we  were  two  parts  of  one  mind.  How 
beautiful  she  was  to-day  in  her  new  seal  hood,  with 
the  funny  little  point  at  the  top.  I  ... 


REPORTED  BY  MY  NOTE-BOO.K.     127 

Jan.  9.  We  have  seen  the  coast  to-day,  but  did 
not  think  it  wise  to  attempt  a  landing.  From  the 
deck  we  could  view  with  our  glasses  Possession 
Island,  with  its  millions  of  penguin  inhabitants. 
Their  lookouts  screamed  and  yelled  at  us  to  keep 
off,  and  their  bleak  shore  is  well  defended  by  jagged 


"  PROCESSION  ISLAND  "  BY  CHAUNCBY  GALB. 

rocks  and  long  glacier  points  that  push  out  into  the 
water.  We  observed  the  perfect  system  of  order 
and  highways  maintained  by  these  solemn  creatures 
as  they  moved  procession-like  to  and  from  the  shore 
— the  fat  ones  on  one  side  all  proceeding  to  their 


128         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

nests  in  the  cliffs,  and  the  thin  ones  coming  to  the 
sea  for  food.  They  did  not  quarrel,  or  get  in 
each  other's  way.  It  seemed  that  we  could  never 
get  through  laughing  at  them.  Gale  says  the 
place  should  be  named  Procession  Island,  and 
that  the  first  addition  he  lays  out  down  here  he's . 
going  to  get  "  Billy  Watsons  "  to  build  the  streets 
for  him.  There  are  many  icebergs  about,  nearly 
all  with  the  blue  lines  and  the  tabular  top.  They 
are  from  the  great  barrier  to  the  south,  whence 
they  have  doubtless  been  blown  by  the  gales  of  .last 
winter,  and  now  seem  to  be  drifting  homeward 
to  be  there  in  time  for  next. 

Jan.  12.  Our  current  has  not  deserted  us,  but 
we  are  more  mystified  with  it  than  ever.  The  sur 
face  ice  is  certainly  drifting  slowly  northward,  for 
we  can  now  gauge  its  movement  by  the  shore,  while 
we  and  the  bergs  are  drifting  to  the  south.  The 
Captain  says  that  it  is  not  uncommon  for  currents 
to  flow  in  opposite  directions,  one  above  the  other, 
for  a  short  distance,  and  that  they  are  called  "  witch 
tides,"  for  the  reason  that  ships  are  sometimes  un 
able  to  move  in  them,  even  with  a  fair  wind,  but 
that  he  has  never  seen  anything  just  like  this.  Can 
it  be  that  this  upper  drift  from  the  south  is  our 
warm  current,  and  that  we  have  been  in  it  for  days 
without  knowing  it?  Certainly  it  is  but  a  feeble 
current  as  yet,  and  there  is  no  warmth  in  it  that  we 


REPORTED  BY  MY  NOTE-BOOK.     129 

can  discover.  There  is  no  pack  here,  and  we  shall 
keep  on  going.  Borchgrevink  found  open  water 
as  low  as  74°. 

Jan.  13.  It  is  our  warm  current  from  the  south! 
There  is  no  doubt  of  this  to-day,  and  there  is  more 
to  be  told !  When  I  went  on  deck  this  morning, 
Officer  Larkins,  who  was  on  watch,  reported  that 
the  ice  seemed  to  run  north  a  bit  stronger,  and  that 
our  drift  southward  was  proportionately  less  rapid. 
I  immediately  had  a  pail  of  water  drawn  up,  and 
tested  it.  It  was  32°.  Yesterday  it  had  tested 
30°  !  There  was  something  about  the  look  of  the 
water  that  made  me  taste  it.  Larkins  said  he 
thought  it  had  thrown  me  into  a  fit,  and  I  suppose 
I  did  make  some  sort  of  a  demonstration,  for  it 
was  fresh !  At  least  it  was  only  brackish,  from  the 
melting  in  it  of  the  salt-water  ice.  I  don't  remem 
ber  just  what  I  did  at  first,  but  I  know  that  when 
I  turned  around  and  saw  Edith  Gale  coming  out  of 
the  cabin,  I  found  it  not  easy  to  keep  from  behav 
ing  in  a  manner  which  I  feel  quite  certain  she  would 
have  disapproved.  As  it  was,  I  rushed  up  to  her 
with  the  glass.  "  Taste  it !  "  I  urged.  "  Taste  it ! 
It's  fresh  water  from  a  warm  river  flowing  straight 
from  the  South  Pole!"  She  tasted  and  rejoiced 
with  me.  That  it  came  from  inland  warmth  we 
could  not  doubt.  And  now  the  mystery  of  these 
currents  becomes  clearer.  Above  the  heavily-mov- 


130        THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

ing  ocean  current  below  us  there  is  the  lighter,  shal 
lower  current  of  fresh  warm  water,  carried  by  its 
force  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  finally  spreading 
and  losing  itself  in  the  sea.  It  was  doubtless  this 
strange  combination  that  helped  to  open  our  way 
through  the  pack,  and  that  we  believe  now  will  show 
us  the  way  to  our  destination.  In  celebration  of  the 
event  we  have  just  had  a  great  feasting,  at  which  I 
was  the  guest  of  honor.  I  cannot  sleep,  so  I  must 
go  back  to  the  deck  to  watch  and  rejoice. 

Later — Edith  Gale  was  there,  and  we  walked  up 
and  down  for  an  hour,  constructing  wild  theories. 
We  still  drift  southward  against  our  new  warm 
river.  The  drift  of  the  great  salt  current  a  few  feet 
below  the  surface  is  strong,  and  we  let  it  carry  us — 
whither  ? 

Jan.  15.  We  are  in  the  midst  of  a  fierce,  north 
easterly  storm  that  has  brought  a  world  of  grinding 
pack-ice  about  us.  All  trace  of  our  warm  current 
is  lost,  of  course,  and  we  are  fighting  now  with 
steam  and  sail  to  keep  from  being  driven  upon  the 
ragged  shores  of  Victoria  Land.  We  cannot  see  the 
coast,  for  a  thick  mist  has  shut  us  in,  but  we  know 
by  the  screaming  flocks  of  birds  whirling  about 
us  that  it  is  not  far  distant.  At  any  moment  we 
may  strike  a  hidden  reef  or  rock,  or  be  crushed  by 
a  toppling  berg.  No  one  slept  last  night,  and  one 
of  the  officers  has  been  in  the  crow's-nest  constantly. 


REPORTED  BY  MY  NOTE-BOOK.     131 

Two  days  ago  all  seemed  joy.  To-night  I  am  heart 
sick,  and  only  for  the  abiding  courage  and  faith  of 
Chauncey  and  Edith  Gale  would  be  despairing. 
Gale  is  a  king  among  men,  and  Edith 

Jan.  20.  Five  days  in  the  clutch  of  this  fearful 
storm.  I  seem  to  have  lived  as  many  years  since 
we  found  the  warm  current.  If  I  have  slept  I  do 
not  know  it.  I  am  thin  and  haggard  with  watching 
and  anxiety.  But  now  the  wind  has  gone  down, 
and  there  is  hope,  though  we  are  still  beset  with  this 
pounding,  maddening  ice,  and  the  Captain  has  taken 
no  observation  since  the  I4th.  I  shall  try  to  sleep. 

Jan.  21.  The  sun  came  out  this  morning,  and 
Biffer  got  our  position.  There  has  been  little 
change  in  the  past  week.  We  have  just  about  held 
our  own  in  keeping  off  shore.  Now  we  are  hemmed 
in  by  ice  and  our  currents  are  lost  beneath  it.  We 
shall  try  to  push  southward,  however,  in  the  hope 
of  reaching  clear  water.  The  wind  is  behind  us, 
but  the  drift  ice  ahead  packs  fearfully,  perhaps  be 
cause  of  the  opposite  flowing  current. 

Jan.  26.  This  morning  I  was  called  before  I  was 
awake,  and  hurried  on  deck  to  find  Captain  Biffer 
looking  through  a  glass  at  a  grim  outline  ahead. 

"  There's  your  ice-wall,"  he  said,  as  I  approached. 

"  What's  our  latitude?  "  I  asked. 

"  72°  33'-" 


132         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

"Then  it  can't  be  the  wall,"  I  said.  "It  lies 
somewhere  below  74°." 

The  Captain  looked  again  through  his  glass. 
Then  we  ascended  to  the  crow's-nest  for  a  better 
view. 

"  Well,"  he  declared,  at  last,  "  if  that  ain't  the 
ice-wall,  it's  the  father  of  all  the  icebergs  we've  seen 
yet." 

And  an  iceberg  it  proved  to  be.  We  pushed  and 
worked  our  way  toward  it  all  the  forenoon,  and 
about  two  o'clock  came  near  enough  to  make  out 
an  area  of  open  water  adjacent  to  it,  by  which  we 
knew  it  was  being  carried  southward  against  the 
surface  current  thus  leaving  a  clear  space  behind, 
Into  this  we  pushed  a  little  later,  and  steaming  in 
close,  found  that  in  the  back  of  our  ice  giant  there 
was  a  hollow  of  considerable  size.  It  was,  in  fact, 
a  sort  of  harbor  for  us,  though  not  without  its  draw 
backs.  For  to  the  right  and  left  and  behind  lay 
pack-ice,  so  solid  that  escape  in  any  direction  seemed 
impossible,  and  ready  to  close  in  upon  us  should  the 
great  berg  halt  or  hesitate  in  its  progress  poleward. 

"  We  are  going  now,  whether  we  want  to  or 
not,"  said  Chauncey  Gale. 

"  Yes,"  laughed  Captain  Biffer,  "  we've  got  a 
pacemaker." 

And  this  is  so.  Borne  on  by  the  vast  salt  current 
far  beneath,  our  giant  berg,  regardless  of  drift  ice 


REPORTED  BY  MY  NOTE-BOOK.     133 

and  feeble  fresh-water  resistance,  is  pushing  slowly 
steadily  to  the  southward,  whence  it  came.  I  be 
lieve  now  that  this  salt  undercurrent  describes  a 
huge  circle  in  the  Antarctic  Ocean;  that  it  bends 
to  the  eastward  when  it  reaches  the  great  southern 
barrier,  thence  northward,  detaching  and  carrying 
with  it  into  the  upper  seas  these  giant  sections  of 
the  wall,  drifting  them  across  westward  and  bring 
ing  them  back  southward,  at  last,  as  this  one  is 
being  brought,  to  the  point  of  its  titanic  birth.  The 
bergs  we  met  over  by  the  Shetlands  were  drifting 
northward.  Those  along  the  way  came  as  we  came. 
Some  of  them  looked  worn  and  travel-stained,  as  if 
they  had  been  swinging  around  the  circle  for  a  long 
time;  bruised  and  battered  for  perhaps  centuries. 
The  one  we  are  following  must  be  on  its  first  trip, 
for  it  is  a  giant  of  giants,  going  home  mighty  and 
magnificent  after  its  first  trip  abroad. 

And  we  are  going  with  it.  We  shall  not  attempt 
to  force  our  way  out,  and  whv  should  we?  We 
set  out  for  the  South.  We  believe  now — all  of  us,  I 
think — that  there  is  a  land  there  from  wrhence  can 
flow  a  warm  river.  We  are  going  to  find  it ! 


XVI. 

FOLLOWING   THE   PACEMAKER. 

FOR  a  full  month  we  drifted  slowly  with  our  mon 
ster  berg.  So  slowly  that  at  times,  when  the  wind 
shifted,  we  were  almost  at  a  standstill,  and  the  drift- 
ice  was  ready  to  shut  us  in.  But  within  our  big 
giant's  lap  we  were  well  protected,  and  lying  idly 
were  borne  steadily  to  the  south.  We  grew  pres 
ently  to  love  our  big  protector,  and  had  the  Cap 
tain's  name  of  Pacemaker  not  clung  to  him  we 
should  have  christened  him  something  very  grand, 
indeed.  For  as  a  pacemaker  he  was  not  a  suc 
cess.  An  average  of  twenty  miles  a  day  was  about 
the  best  we  could  do,  and  at  times  we  did  even 
worse.  Still,  we  gave  him  great  credit,  for  without 
him  we  might,  as  Gale  said,  "  have  gone  to  the 
wall  "  before  we  were  ready  to. 

As  the  days  passed  I  found  that  I  must  change 
my  calculations  somewhat  concerning  the  position 
of  the  barrier.  I  had  located  it  not  lower  than  75°, 


FOLLOWING  THE  PACEMAKER.     135 

but  by  the  25th  we  were  below  76°,  and  no  barrier 
as  yet.  Could  it  be  that  this  undercurrent  flowed 
through  the  Antarctic  Continent?  But  this,  I  de 
cided,  would  be  impossible. 

We  were  not  idle  during  this  period  of  drifting, 
and  the  month  as  a  whole  was  one  of  enjoyment. 
When  we  no  longer  had  the  sun  at  midnight,  we 
began  preparing  for  winter.  From  the  skins  ob 
tained  by  the  sailors  we  rigged  ourselves  out  in 
new  suits,  according  to  the  best  polar  authorities. 
It  was  not  seriously  cold  as  yet,  but  with  the  ad 
vent  of  the  Antarctic  night  who  could  say  what  cold 
might  come?  Gale  was  fondly  referred  to  as 
Jumbo  'when  he  got  properly  put  together.  One 
day,  however,  he  got  down  on  his  back  and  could 
not  get  up  again.  Then  he  was  christened  the 
"  Turtle." 

"  I've  heard  of  people  being  as  big  as  a  barrel," 
he  said,  "  but  in  this  outfit  I'm  as  big  as  a  whole 
cooper-shop." 

We  were  frequently  tempted  to  try  scaling  our 
big  Pacemaker  to  make  observations  ahead.  Edith 
Gale  would  have  gone  promptly  had  her  father 
consented.  Ferratoni,  too,  was  eager  to  make  some 
further  experiments,  testing  his  apparatus  with  the 
berg  as  an  elevation.  With  our  little  steam  launch 
we  believed  we  might  be  able  to  find  a  place  where 
the  ascent  would  not  be  difficult,  and  as  days  passed 


136         THE  GREA  T  WHITE  WA  Y. 

and  brought  still  deeper  latitudes,  the  temptation 
grew  even  stronger. 

We  yielded  to  it,  at  last,  on  the  second  of  March, 
a  momentous  day  in  our  calendar.  Immediately 
after  breakfast  that  morning  we  discovered  that  our 
pacemaker  was  moving  considerably  faster  than  at 
any  previous  time,  and  that  its  great  right  wing 
was  swinging  ahead  of  the  left.  I  argued  at  once 
that  we  had  reached  a  bend  in  the  current,  where 
the  outer  edge  would  have  the  greater  speed. 
It  seemed  to  me  that  we  must  be  near  the 
barrier  by  these  indications,  and  that  it  was 
now  more  important  than  ever  that  we  should  know 
how  the  land,  or,  rather  the  water,  lay  ahead, 
that  we  might  decide  whether  to  continue  with  the 
berg,  or  to  strike  out  now  on  our  own  account  and 
endeavor  to  find  a  way  around  to  the  south.  Gale 
was  for  sending  up  the  balloon,  but  this  would  have 
required  two  days'  preparation,  and  seemed  unnec- 
cessary.  I  was  greatly  in  favor  of  trying  to  scale 
the  berg  ahead,  which  plan  was  finally  adopted. 

I  had  thought  of  going  with  two  sailors  only,  one 
to  remain  with  the  launch,  and  one  to  assist  me  in 
the  ascent,  but  when  the  launch  was  ready  Edith 
Gale  suddenly  appeared,  panoplied  for  the  under 
taking,  and  finally  coaxed  and  intimidated  her 
father  into  yielding.  It  was  against  his  judgment 
and  mine,  but  she  had  been  confined  to  the  ship  so 


FOLLOWING  THE  PACEMAKER.     137 

long,  and  our  old  friend  ahead  had  been  so  steady 
and  faithful,  that  it  seemed  there  could  be  no  more 
danger  than  in  scaling  a  mountain,  provided  we 
found  an  accessible  and  easy  path.  This  we  did 
without  much  difficulty,  and  just  outside  of  the 
little  hollow  where  the  Billowcrest  lay.  Here  the 
berg  appeared  to  have  been  washed  or  gullied  out 
by  snow  melting  from  above,  which  had  formed 
a  sort  of  natural  snow-carpeted  stairway,  similar  to 
that  made  by  a  mountain  brook  in  winter.  There 
was  also  a  good  landing  below,  and  here  we  left 
the  sailors  with  the  launch,  which  we  thought  was 
more  likely  to  need  them  than  we.  Then  we  ran 
and  stumbled  up  the  snowy  stair  like  two  children. 

It  was  not  quite  so  easy  and  safe  as  it  looked.  At 
one  place  T  slipped  into  a  narrow  crevice  and  came 
near  breaking  my  ankle,  as  well  as  Ferratoni's  tele 
phone  apparatus,  which  I  carried.  After  this  we 
went  more  carefully.  The  berg  was  even  higher 
than  it  appeared,  but  we  soon  reached  the  top,  which 
we  were  glad  to  find  comparatively  level  and  firmly 
crusted  over.  Here  we  tried  the  telephone  with 
great  success.  Chauncey  Gale  asked  if  we  could  see 
the  South  Pole  from  where  we  were,  and  cautioned 
"  Johnnie  "  to  be  careful.  By  going  near  the  brink 
we  could  have  looked  down  on  the  vessel,  but  this 
we  would  not  risk. 

We  now  hastened  across  to  the  opposite  side  of 


138         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY, 

the  berg,  not  more  than  a  third  of  a  mile  distant, 
for  the  Pacemaker  was  a  long,  narrow  section  of 
the  barrier,  and  the  hollow  in  which  the  Billowcrest 
was  lying  made  it  still  narrower  at  this  point. 
There  was  a  light  mist  rising  from  the  ice  that  ob 
structed  our  vision  somewhat,  and  there  was  a  daz 
zle,  too,  that  we  thought  must  be  the  sun  shining 
on  the  ice-pack  ahead.  It  was  not  until  we  were 
quite  near  the  edge  that  we  realized  our  mistake. 

Then,  suddenly  we  stopped  dead  still.  Out  of 
the  mist,  the  dazzle  had  crystallized  into  definite 
form.  It  was  ice,  truly,  but  not  the  far-lying  level 
of  the  pack.  Steadily,  surely,  inevitably,  we  were 
being  borne  forward  to  a  towering,  gleaming  wall ! 
It  loomed  far  above  us,  and  extended  to  the  east  and 
west  as  far  as  our  eyes  could  follow.  No  need  to 
guess  what  it  was — we  knew !  We  were  face  to 
face  with  the  great  barrier — the  huge,  impregnable 
fortress  of  the  Antarctic  world. 

For  a  moment  we  stood  stupefied,  spellbound. 
Then  came  a  realization  of  doom.  The  Pacemaker 
would  strike  presently,  with  its  irresistible,  crush 
ing  momentum.  The  right  wing  seemed  to  us  even 
now  touching.  Rending  destruction,  perhaps  an 
nihilation,  must  follow. 

There  was  no  necessity  of  discussion.  As  usual 
we  were  of  one  mind,  and  were  on  our  way  back  to 
the  ship  quicker  than  anything  Ferratoni  could  pro- 


FOLLOWING  THE  PACEMAKER.     139 

duce.  We  even  forgot  we  had  the  telephone  and 
could  warn  the  others.  What  we  desired  most  was 
to  get  off  from  that  berg  before  the  earthquake. 

"  This  is  the  way,"  panted  Edith  Gale,  pres 
ently. 

"  No,  this !  "  I  panted  back,  bending  a  little  to  the 
east. 

In  our  haste  and  excitement  we  had  grown  a  bit 
confused. 

"  Try  both,"  I  breathed. 

But  at  that  instant  there  came  a  vast  trembling 
under  our  feet,  and  the  next  I  was  lying  upon  the 
snow,  while  the  air  about  me  was  being  rent  by  a 
sound  so  awful  as  to  batter  into  my  brain  the 
thought  that  we  had  struck  the  Antarctic  Continent 
and  split  it  in  two!  I  was  nearly  right,  only  that, 
when  a  second  later  I  opened  my  eyes,  I  saw  that 
the  split  was  the  Pacemaker's,  and  that  I  was  lying 
within  six  inches  of  its  edge.  Just  across,  perhaps 
ten  yards  away,  lay  Edith  Gale.  More  than  two 
hundred  feet  below  was  the  sea,  and  at  that  in 
stant  I  saw  the  Billowcrest  being  lifted  up  and  up 
by  the  mightiest,  slowest  wave  that  ever  sea  was 
heir  to.  It  seemed  to  me  that  she  would  never 
stop,  and  I  remember  thinking  dimly  that  if  she 
kept  on  coming  I  could  get  aboard.  Then  at  last 
she  fell  back  and  the  sea  swallowed  her.  Again  I 
could  count  time,  and  I  was  sure  she  was  on  her 


140 


THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 


way  to  the  bottom  when  she  reappeared,  swinging 
and  rolling,  but  apparently  undamaged.  I  saw 
black  figures  on  her  begin  to  move;  then  I  looked 
across  once  more  to  Edith  Gale,  who  was  slowly 
drifting  farther  from  me.  She  was  sitting  upright, 
half  dazed  as  it  seemed.  I  called  across  to  her. 


SKETCH  FROM  MR.  CHASE'S  NOTE-BOOK. 

She  assured  me  that  she  was  not  in  the  least  injured 
— only  a  bit  shaken  up  and  confused.  Then  I  saw 
she  had  been  correct  in  the  position  of  the  launch. 

"  Go  to  the  boat,"  I  said.  "  If  they  are  not  lost, 
they  can  take  you  to  the  ship,  and  then  try  to  get 
me.  I  can  see  the  ship  from  here.  It  seems  safe." 

"Keep  away  from  that  edge!"  she  called  back. 
"And  why  don't  you  use  the  telephone?" 


FOLLOWING  THE  PACEMAKER.     141 

I  had  forgotten  it  entirely.  Even  as  she  spoke 
it  began  ringing,  and  holding  it  to  my  ear  I  dis 
tinguished  the  eager  "  hello  "  of  Chauncey  Gale. 

"Hello!"  I  called,  "all  right  up  here!  How's 
the  ship?" 

"  Wet,  but  safe.     How's  Johnnie?  " 

"  Safe.  We  were  separated  when  the  shake-up 
came  and  the  berg  broke  between  us.  She's  on  the 
side  where  the  launch  is." 

Gale  would  always  be  Gale. 

"  No  danger  of  your  righting  then  about  whose 
fault  it  was." 

I  heard  him  now  give  an  order  to  put  off  two 
boats  for  us.  at  once,  in  case  the  launch  had  been 
destroyed.  I  called  this  across  to  Edith  Gale,  who 
immediately  set  out  for  the  landing  place,  after  bid 
ding  me  not  to  be  uneasy,  and  to  be  careful  about 
taking  cold.  She  added  that  I  was  sure  to  be 
taken  off,  soon,  though  by  what  special  means  she 
had  acquired  this  information  I  have  yet  to  learn. 
She  disappeared  down  the  snow  stairway,  and  I  was 
alone. 

T  could  still  talk  to  Gale,  however,  and  I  told  him 
just  what  we  had  seen  before  we  struck.  I  said  I 
would  go  back  over  there  now  and  take  another 
look.  But  this  he  counselled  against,  as  we  were 
still  grinding  away  at  the  wall,  and  there  would 
be  great  danger  from  crumbling  fragments.  I  real- 


142         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

ized,  now,  why  the  older  bergs  were  battered  and 
so  much  smaller.  Pounding  along  that  wall  for  a 
thousand  miles  or  so  is  not  calculated  to  encourage 
the  growth  or  improve  the  appearance  of  even  the 
best  constructed  iceberg. 

Then  Gale  told  me  what  had  happened  on  the 
ship.  Officer  Larkins  and  one  sailor  had  been  on 
deck  when  the  upheaval  came.  They  had  seized 
ropes  on  the  upward  lift,  and  though  very  wet  and 
breathless  after  the  plunge,  had  come  up  safely. 
The  water  had  not  been  fierce,  but  very  deep. 
Larkins  had  interviewed,  and  named,  a  few  fish 
while  he  was  down.  The  Billowcrest  had  fully 
earned  her  title. 

"  But  where  were  you?  "  I  called. 

'•'  Playing  euchre  with  Biffer,  in  the  cabin.  It 
was  my  deal.  I  shuffled  as  we  went  up  and  dealt 
as  we  came  down.  I  had  plenty  of  time  to  get 
through  and  turn  trump  while  we  were  under. 
Then  Biff  said,  '  I  order  you  up ! '  and  up  we  come. 
'  Guess  our  Pacemaker's  hit  the  South  Pole,'  says 
Biff,  '  an'  knocked  it  over ! '  Then  I  remembered 
right  away  about  you  an'  Johnnie." 

A  little  later  he  called  to  me  that  "  Johnnie  "  had 
got  back  safely.  When  the  upheaval  came,  the 
launch  had  been  swamped  but  did  not  sink  because 
of  her  air-tight  compartments.  The  men  had 
scrambled  to  the  berg  and  had  the  water  about 


FOLLOWING  THE  PACEMAKER.     143 

pumped  out  by  the  time  Miss  Gale  reached  them.  I 
might  expect  rescue  any  time,  and  I'd  better  walk 
about  to  keep  warm. 

I  could  do  this  and  talk,  too.  Edith  Gale  took 
the  telephone  then,  and  told  me  in  detail  all  that  had 
happened,  and  encouraged  me  in  my  long  waiting. 
Incidentally  I  looked  about  for  a  way  down,  but 
without  success.  By  and  by  I  heard  her  speaking 
to  some  one,  but  so  low  that  I  could  not  distinguish 
the  words.  Then  to  me,  and  it  seemed  that  there 
was  a  note  of  anxiety  in  her  voice : 

"  How  wide  is  the  chasm,  now  ?  " 

I  walked  over  nearer  and  answered. 

"  About  as  it  was — perhaps  narrower.  It  seems 
to  be  drawing  together  again." 

"Oh,  I'm  so  glad!" 

"  Why,  has  anything ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  don't  be  frightened !  But  the  men  have 
returned  and  can't  find  any  place  to  scale  the  berg 
on  that  side.  They  are  going  now  with  ropes  and 
ladders  to  get  you  across  the  chasm." 

I  tried  to  reply,  but  the  first  effort  was  unsuc 
cessful.  I  could  never,  even  as  a  boy,  walk  a  beam 
that  was  more  than  ten  feet  from  the  ground.  The 
thought  of  crossing  that  chasm  on  anything  to 
which  I  was  not  securely  tied  made  me  colder  than 
any  Antarctic  climate. 

"  Oh,"  I  managed  to  say  at  last,  "  tell  them  to 


144         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

bring  ropes,  plenty  of  them,  and  a — a  derrick,  if 
they  happen  to  have  such  a  thing." 

Through  another  cold,  wretched  hour — warmed 
and  encouraged  only  by  messages  from  the  ship. 
At  last  I  heard  voices,  and  then  there  were  men 
with  ropes  and  ladders  on  the  other  side  of  the 
chasm,  which  by  this  time  was  no  more  than  fifteen 
feet  across.  Their  ladders  they  had  expected  to 
splice  end  to  end,  but  as  each  was  long  enough  to 
reach,  I  insisted  that  they  be  spliced  side  by  side. 
They  threw  me  a  rope,  and  one  end  of  this  bridge 
I  dragged  over  and  jammed  securely  into  the  snow. 
Then,  untying  the  rope,  I  fastened  it  under  my 
arms  and  threw  them  the  other  end;  after  which  I 
lay  down,  for  I  could  never  have  walked,  and  was 
hauled  ignominiously  across. 

"  Got  a  pretty  cold  shake,  didn't  you?  "  said  Gale 
as  he  welcomed  me  back  to  the  ship. 

And  so  it  was  that  we  reached  the  great  Antarctic 
barrier,  at  last.  We  came  around  to  the  westward 
of  old  Pacemaker,  who  in  two  parts  was  still 
grinding  along  to  the  eastward.  We  found  open 
water  and  a  northerly  current,  which,  on  examina 
tion,  we  accepted  as  our  warm  surface  river,  and 
this  we  followed  directly  to  an  anchorage  in  a  small 
ice-bound  bay  or  bottle,  for  it  seemed  more  like  a 
tall  glass  tube  with  a  strip  out  of  the  side  than  any 
thing  I  can  think  of,  while  its  height  gave  it  the 


FOLLOWING  THE  PACEMAKER.     145 

appearance  of  drawing  together  at  the  top.  We 
half  hoped  to  find  a  way  into  the  continent  when  we 
entered  this  ice-locked  harbor,  but  the  warm  fresh 
current  flowed,  as  I  had  rather  expected  it  would 
from  beneath  the  barrier,  and  apparently  in 
great  volume.  The  water  in  the  harbor  was  only 
slightl}*-  brackish,  and  its  temperature  on  our  arrival 
about  36°  Fahrenheit.  How  far  it  had  come 
through  the  ice  we  could  only  surmise,  or  to  what 
extent  it  would  affect  our  winter  climate.  It  would 
freeze  solidly,  no  doubt,  during-  the  long  winter,  but 
even  then  we  believed  it  would  be  only  an  added 
protection  against  the  floes  outside,  and  the  squeeze 
of  the  pack.  Altogether,  we  were  mightily  pleased 
with  our  winter  quarters,  and  warmed  and  fed,  and 
safe  again  on  the  old  Billowcrest  with  those  I  loved, 
I  was  happier  than  I  can  say. 


10 


XVII. 

INVESTIGATION  AND  DISCOVERY. 

OUR  days  grew  shorter  rapidly.  In  the  fading 
light  we  made  haste  to  examine  our  surroundings 
with  care,  and  to  make  sure  that  we  could  not  find 
a  still  better  location  for  the  long  winter  ahead. 
When  the  water  outside  was  clear  of  ice  we  cruised 
in  the  launch  along  the  barrier  to  make  what 
Chauncey  Gale  called  "  scientific  developments." 
We  became  convinced,  soon,  that  our  warm  river 
formed  at  its  mouth  the  only  available  retreat  for 
the  Billowcrest,  and  further,  that  this  river,  follow 
ing  up  the  coast  of  Victoria  Land,  was  without 
doubt  the  current  noted  by  Borchgrevink,  who 
seems  not  to  have  thought  of  tasting  as  well  as  test 
ing  its  waters.  Just  outside  the  harbor  this  river  is 
met  by  the  slow-moving,  southward  flowing  salt 
current,  and  forced  aside.  The  ice-wall  to  the 
1e*t,  or  westward,  angles  somewhat  to  the  north, 
and  the  deflected  current  naturally  follows  this 
coast,  diffusing  itself  gradually  over  the  opposite- 
flowing,  sluggish  ocean  current. 
146 


INVESTIGA  TION  AND  DISCO  VERY.    147 

Examining  our  river  at  the  point  where  it 
emerged  from  the  ice,  we  found  that  at  low  tide 
there  was  a  space  of  several  feet  between  its  normal 
surface  and  the  massy  barrier  above,  and  in  this  we 
recognized  a  possible  entrance  to  the  inland  conti 
nent,  had  there  been  any  assurance  that  we  should 
reach  the  other  side,  or,  at  least,  a  point  above  high- 
water  mark  before  the  tide's  return.  Chauncey 
Gale  peered  into  the  blackness,  and  shook  his  head. 

"  I  don't  like  to  go  into  a  hole  and  pull  the  hole 
in  after  me,"  he  said.  "  and  it  seems  to  me  that's 
about  what  we'd  do  in  this  case." 

We  decided  therefore  not  to  attempt  this,  at  most 
not  until  the  return  of  summer,  and  after  we  had 
tested  the  efficiency  of  our  balloon. 

The  river,  we  concluded,  had  been  one  day  open 
to  the  sky  throughout,  but  at  some  far-off  period 
the  ice  and  snows  of  winter  had  formed  so  deeply 
upon  it  that  the  summer  warmth  could  not  entirely 
dissolve  them.  Each  year  and  century  had  added 
thickness  and  strength  to  this  crystal  bridge,  until 
were  it  not  for  the  widening  harbor  at  the  mouth, 
above  which  the  ice  appears  never  to  have  remained 
throughout  the  year,  there  would  be  little  to  mark 
the  point  of  entrance. 

Concerning  the  barrier  itself,  I  became  convinced 
that  it  was  not,  as  reported  by  others,  from  points 
farther  north,  a  mass  formed  about,  or  abreast  of 


148         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

a  mountain  range ;  but  that  where  we  were  at  least,  it 
was  the  accumulation  on  a  comparatively  flat  shore 
of  the  solidified  snows  of  centuries.  There  is,  of 
course,  a  heavy  Antarctic  snowfall  each  year,  and 
this  is  partly  melted  and  frozen  again  during  almost 
every  day  of  the  long  polar  summer.  The  stratified 
lines  in  the  barrier  showed  us  clearly  the  formation 
of  the  upper  layers,  while  the  lower  layers,  formed 
countless  ages  ago,  had  settled  and  congealed  into 
a  concrete  crystal  mass.  We  decided  that  it  was 
the  formation  of  this  mass  out  over  the  sea,  and  the 
final  breaking  off  by  its  own  weight,  that  produced 
the  Antarctic  berg,  always  recognized  by  its  tabular, 
or  flat,  top  and  blue  strata  lines,  the  latter  often 
showing  throughout  the  full  height  of  the  berg's 
exposed  surface — an  elevation  of  two  hundred  feet 
or  more. 

But  these  lines  above  the  water  reveal  merely 
what  have  been  the  topmost  layers  of  the  towering 
wall  from  whence  the  berg  came.  Below  the 
water-line  the  ice  extends  downward  for  perhaps 
eighteen  hundred  feet,  and  this  added  to  the  height 
above  gives  approximately  the  elevation  of  the  great 
Antarctic  Barrier!  For  full  two  thousand  feet 
above  the  Billowcrest  rose  this  almost  perpendicu 
lar  blue  precipice.  Our  harbor  formed  a  little 
more  than  half  a  circle,  and  was  something  less  than 
half  a  mile  across.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that 


INVESTIGATION  AND  DISCOVERY.    149 

our  name  of  Bottle  Bay,  conferred  by  Chauncey 
Gale  on  the  moment  of  our  arrival,  was  not  inaptly 
chosen. 

For  a  time  we  could  not  get  rid  of  the  feeling 
that  the  surrounding  wall  would  presently  topple 
and  destroy  us.  But  as  days  passed  we  grew 
strong  in  our  security,  while  our  opening  to  the 
north,  whence,  in  this  latitude,  the  sun  sends  its 
warmest  comfort,  became  at  midday  a  wonderful 
gate  of  gold.  We  named  it  the  "  Portal  of  the 
Sun,"  and  through  it,  less  than  two  months  later, 
we  were  to  see  that  life-giving  luminary  disappear. 
Would  we  be  there  to  watch  for  its  return  when 
the  long  winter  night  had  passed?  Who  should 
say? 


XVIII. 

A  "  BORNING  "  AND  A  MYSTERY. 

ONE  morning,  a  week  after  our  arrival,  as  we 
sat  at  breakfast,  we  felt  the  Billowcrest  suddenly 
rock  beneath  us,  and  a  moment  later  there  came  a 
roar  so  mighty  that  it  seemed  the  whole  world  must 
shudder  with  it.  We  looked  at  each  other,  our 
minds  reverting  to  the  moment  of  our  arrival  with 
the  Pacemaker.  But  there  was  a  difference  in  the 
sound.  That  had  been  a  splitting,  crashing  terror. 
This  also  seemed  the  cry  of  a  great  rending 
asunder,  but  followed  by  a  splendid,  universal 
groan  of  peace.  At  first  no  one  spoke,  and  we  half 
rose  to  hasten  on  deck.  But  then,  to  Ferratoni, 
came  the  truth. 

"  Have  no  fright,"  he  said,  "  it  was  but  the  born- 
ing  of  a  giant." 

We  felt  the  vessel  now  slowly  rising  beneath  us. 
Going  out  we  found  the  water  pouring  into  our 
harbor,  displaced  by  the  new-born  berg.  Had  we 
been  outside,  the  Billowcrest  might  have  repeated 
her  diving  experiment. 


A  "  BORNING  "  AND  A  MYSTERY.     151 

When  the  water  receded  we  went  out  in  the 
launch  to  investigate.  Following  the  wall  for  more 
than  a  mile  we  came  to  a  wonderful  gleaming 
monster,  an  infant  Titan,  setting  out  clumsily  on  its 
first  voyage.  Already  there  was  a  space  between 
it  and  the  mother  barrier,  and  the  great  life  current 
of  the  ocean  was  tugging  it  to  the  east. 

"  It's  got  a  long  trip  before  it,"  said  Gale.  "  It'll 
be  in  many  a  tight  place  and  get  lots  of  hard  rubs 
before  it  sees  home  again.  How  long  do  you  sup 
pose  it  will  be?  " 

I  shook  my  head. 

"  Depends  a  good  deal  on  what  luck  it  has,  I 
suppose ;  same  as  with  the  rest  of  us. 

We  went  a  little  way  in  behind  the  berg  to  inspect 
the  new  surface  there.  It  was  smooth  and  trans 
parent. 

"Look!"  cried  Edith  Gale,  pointing  up. 

Our  eyes  followed  in  the  direction  indicated,  and 
we  saw  in  the  clear  ice  just  above  our  heads  some 
thing  frozen.  The  light  dazzled  at  first  and  we 
moved  to  the  other  side.  Then  we  saw  a  huge  ani 
mal  form  enclosed  in  the  crystal.  It  was  perfectly 
preserved.  The  body  was  smooth  and  dark,  with 
long  flippers,  and  extending  in  front  for  many  feet 
was  a  slender  neck  or  throat,  ending  in  a  head  some 
thing  like  that  of  a  great  bird.  We  looked  at  it 
in  silence  for  some  moments ;  Gale  said : 


152         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

"  Are  we  going  to  find  such  things  as  that  when 
we  get  inside?  If  we  are  you  can  refund  my 
money,  now." 

"  That,"  I  said,  "  is  a  plesiosaurus,  or  an  ichthy 
osaurus.  I  can  never  quite  remember  which  is 
which.  But  it's  some  kind  of  a  '  saurus,'  and  it  was 
washed  up,  or  crept  up  there  to  die,  probably  more 
than  a  million  years  ago.  If  this  were  a  scientific 
expedition  we  would  rejoice,  and  dig  it  out.  We 
might,  anyway." 

"  No,"  dissented  Gale,  "  I  don't  want  to  bring 
down  another  iceberg  just  yet,  and  besides,  we've 
got  other  fish  to  fry." 

"One  might  say  other  sauruses  of  amusement," 
added  Edith  Gale,  with  becoming  solemnity. 

"  I  think  we'd  better  go  home  after  that,"  said 
her  father. 

Entering  the  harbor,  Ferratoni  pointed  to  the  sur 
face  of  the  water,  a  little  way  ahead,  where  some 
thing  appeared  to  be  floating.  As  we  drew  nearer 
our  wonder  increased,  for  it  proved  to  be  a  part  of 
a  small  boat,  or  canoe.  It  did  not  appear  to  have 
been  in  the  water  for  any  great  length  of  time,  and 
did  not  much  resemble  any  craft  we  could  recall. 
Captain  Biffer  decided  that  it  was  from  some  island 
of  the  South  Pacific,  and  had  been  brought  to  us  by 
the  salt  under-current.  It  had  been  forced  into  the 
harbor,  he  said,  by  the  recent  intide  caused  by  the 


A  "  BORNING  "  AND  A  MYSTERY.     153 

new  berg.  To  me,  however,  his  argument  did  not 
seem  tenable.  I  believed  the  craft  had  been 
brought  by  our  warm  river  from  the  inner  con 
tinent,  battered  to  pieces  on  the  way  by  rocks  or 
crushed  against  the  ice  overhead.  Edith  Gale  quite 
agreed  with  me  in  this,  as  did  Ferratoni.  Her 
father  also  seemed  to  favor  the  idea.  We  took  the 
fragment — it  was  a  piece  of  a  sharp  bow — to  the 
forward  cabin  of  the  Billowcrest.  Here  we  placed 
it  on  a  little  table,  and  gathering  about  it,  Edith 
Gale,  Ferratoni,  and  I  constructed  some  curious 
fancies  of  those  whose  hands  had  fashioned  it.  To 
Ferratoni  more  than  to  us  it  seemed  to  speak;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  he  revealed  less  of  what  it  told 
him. 


XIX. 

A  LONG  FAREWELL. 

AND  now  indeed  the  shadows  gathered  and  closed 
in  about  us.  Already  our  day  was  but  a  brief  period 
of  mournful  twilight.  Soon  there  would  be  only 
a  chill  redness  in  the  northern  sky  at  midday.  Then 
this  too  would  leave  us,  and  the  electric  glow  of  the 
Billowcrest  would  be  our  only  cheer. 

With  the  coming  of  the  dark,  the  friendly  sea  life 
— the  penguins  and  the  seals — vanished.  They  had 
visited  us  numerously  during  the  early  days  of  our 
arrival  in  Bottle  Bay,  and  we  did  not  realize  what  a 
comfort  they  had  been  until  they  were  gone. 
Neither  did  we  quite  understand  why  they  should 
go,  when  the  water  of  the  bay  was  still  open.  Yet 
we  knew  that  they  must  be  wiser  in  the  matter  than 
we,  and  we  could  not  help  being  a  bit  depressed  as 
we  watched  them  becoming  fewer  each  day,  until 
the  last  one  had  regarded  us  solemnly  and  with  a 
harsh  note  of  farewell  had  deserted  us  for  the  open 
waters  of  the  north. 


A  LONG  FAREWELL.  155 

Instinctively  we  drew  nearer  together  and  our 
interdependence  became  daily  more  evident.  What 
gave  trifling  pleasure  to  one  was  a  signal  for  a  gen 
eral  rejoicing,  while  the  slightest  individual  ailment 
became  a  matter  of  heavy  concern  to  all. 

There  were  so  few  of  us,  and  the  darkening 
waste  about  was  so  wide  and  desolate.  Personal 
consideration  and  even  tenderness  crept  into  our 
daily  round,  and  any  dim  shadows  of  discontent 
that  may  have  lingered  among  us  were  gathered  up 
by  the  approaching  gloom. 

The  Captain  informed  us  that  on  the  Saturday 
before  Easter  we  should  see  the  sun  for  the  last 
time.  Gale  said  he  was  glad  Easter  fell  late  that 
year,  and  that  we  ought  to  do  something  special  in 
the  way  of  farewell  ceremonies. 

So  on  Saturday  immediately  after  breakfast  we 
began  our  programme.  We  were  to  have  many  other 
such  diversions  during  the  long  night  that  followed, 
and  as  our  first  was  fairly  representative  of  the 
others  I  will  give  it  somewhat  in  detail.  There 
were  a  number  of  musical  instruments  on  board  and 
most  of  us  could  play,  or  at  least  strum  a  little. 
Edith  Gale,  who  was  a  skilled  musician,  had  com 
posed  something  for  the  occasion,  and  led  on  the 
harp.  Ferratoni  played  well  on  the  violin,  Gale 
had  some  mastery  of  the  flute,  and  I  could  follow 
with  chords  on  the  piano.  Then  we  had  singing, 


156         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

in  which  all  joined,  and  the  great  barrier  behind  us 
echoed  for  the  first  time  in  all  its  million  years  to  a 
grand  old  English  ballad  with  a  rousing  chorus. 

Now  followed  a  literary  series  in  which  we  were 
to  give  things  of  our  own  composition.  Edith  Gale 
was  first  on  this  programme.  She  did  not  need  to 
read  her  effort.  It  was  very  brief. 

"  Beauty,"  she  said,  "  and  a  love  of  the  truly 
beautiful,  are  nature's  best  gifts  to  men  and  women. 
We  have  only  to  look  and  to  listen,  and  we  learn 
something  of  the  joy  of  the  Universe  and  the  sooth 
ing  spirit  of  peace.  Even  in  this  loneliness,  and 
through  the  long  night  that  lies  now  at  our  Gate 
way  of  the  Sun,  we  may  find,  if  we  will  understand 
it,  something  beside  desolation  and  unillumined 
dark.  Within,  we  shall  keep  the  semblance  and 
memories  of  summertime.  Without,  will  fall  a 
night,  mighty  and  solemn,  and  terrifying,  but  always 
majestic,  always  beautiful.  And  in  our  hearts  we 
shall  not  grow  faint,  or  despair. 

After  the  acknowledgments  Gale  said : 

"  That's  the  sort  of  thing  that  Johnnie  used  to 
carry  to  the  homes  and  hearthstones  of  Tangleside, 
and  it's  wonderful  the  way  they  seemed  to  take  to 
it.  What  do  you  think  about  it,  Bill?  Do  you 
think  a  love  of  the  beautiful  will  be  our  greatest 
comfort  during  a  hundred-day  night?  Let's  hear 
from  you." 


A  LONG  FAREWELL.  157 

Mr.  Sturritt  rose  nervously. 

"  I — I  am  quite  sure,"  he  began,  "  that  Miss  Gale 
understands  her  bus — er — subject,  I  should  say, 
but  I  would  suggest,  that,  without  proper  nourish 
ment — that  is — food  we  would  find  it  not  easy  to 
appreciate  the  less  filling — er,  I  mean  less  material 
comforts  of  beauty." 

Here  Mr.  Sturritt  glanced  at  a  little  paper  in  his 
hand  and  continued  more  steadily. 

"  Without  proper  food  man  becomes  ill  in  body 
and  morals.  With  it,  he  becomes  hopeful,  and  in 
spired  to  high  achievements.  Different  foods  re 
sult  in  varied  trains  of  thought.  Acting  upon  this 
I  hope  to  produce  a  condensed  lozenge  or  wafer  that 
shall  assist  each  according  to  his  needs.  The  in 
ventor,  the  artist  and  the  poet  will  then  be  gently 
stimulated  in  imagination,  command  of  words  or 
rhythmic  forces,  as  may  be  required." 

Mr.  Sturritt  lowered  his  paper. 

"  For  those  lacking  in  their  love  of  the  truly 
beautiful  I  may  also  get  up  a  dose — er,  I  should  say 
— prepare  a  lozenge.  For  our  long  winter,  how 
ever,  I  have  laid  in  a  line  of — er — uncondensed  sup 
plies  which  I  hope  will  make  our  memories  of  sum 
mer  fonder,  and  the  strangeness  of  the  night  less — 
less  discouraging." 

"  Good  for  you,  Bill,"  laughed  Gale  as  he  sat 
down.  "  Johnnie's  all  right  too,  but  in  a  case  of 


158         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

this  kind  it's  the  food  question  that  I'm  thinking  of. 
Who's  next?  Let's  hear  from  you,  Biffer." 

The  Captain  rose  with  some  embarrassment,  and 
rather  ponderously. 

"  I'm  with  Miss  Gale,  mostly,"  he  began.  "  I've 
seen  the  sea  in  a  storm  so  beautiful  that  I  wasn't 
afraid,  but  the  story  I'm  going  to  tell  may  seem  to 
side  some  with  Mr.  Sturritt,  too. 

"  Twenty-five  years  ago  last  January  I  was  cap 
tain  of  a  three-masted  schooner  in  the  colony  trade, 
bound  from  Liverpool  to  Halifax.  Five  days  out 
we  struck  one  of  the  hardest  no'theast  storms  I 
ever  met.  In  less  than  an  hour  after  she  hit  us 
we'd  lost  our  main-mast,  and  our  cook's  galley  was 
a  wreck.  Our  deck  was  open  at  the  seams  in  forty 
places  and  everything,  including  our  provision,  was 
wet  with  salt  water.  I  ought  to  have  run  back  but 
I  didn't,  and  we  hadn't  more'n  got  out  of  that  storm 
till  another  hit  us,  and  then  another,  until  we'd  had 
eleven  hurricanes  in  less  than  that  many  days,  and 
were  in  the  worst  condition  a  vessel  could  get  into 
and  keep  afloat.  We  had  none  too  much  provision 
to  start  with,  and  most  of  what  we'd  had  was  lost. 
There  was  no  way  to  cook  what  we  did  have,  so  it 
was  half  a  loaf  of  bread  and  a  pint  of  water  a  day. 
and  drifting  along  under  a  little  dinky  sail,  with 
a  signal  of  distress  flying.  Well,  the  wind  kept  up 


A  LONG  FAREWELL.  159 

and  blew  us  across  the  ocean,  somehow.  We  got 
in  sight  of  Halifax  light  one  evening,  and  right 
there  we  struck  a  nor 'wester  that  laid  us  out  proper. 
We  rolled  and  pitched  and  waterlogged,  and  went 
back  to  sea  again — God  knows  where. 

'  Then  hard  times  did  begin.  It  was  four 
ounces  of  bread  and  half  a  gill  of  water  a  day  for 
fifty  clays,  and  cold  and  freezing,  trying  to  keep 
afloat." 

"  And  then  you  were  rescued !  Then  you  were 
taken  off!" 

It  was  Edith  Gale.  She  was  leaning  forward, 
and  her  eyes  glistening. 

"  No,  Miss  Gale,  then  we  ran  out  of  bread  and 
water." 

"Oh,  Captain  Biffer!" 

"  For  seven  days  there  wa'n't  any  of  either. 
Everybody  laid  down  to  die  except  me.  I  kep'  up 
on  responsibility,  and  stood  at  the  wheel  day  and 
night.  I  didn't  know  where  we  was,  and  I  didn't 
care,  but  somehow  I  couldn't  let  go  of  the  wheel. 
Mebbe,  if  I'd  appreciated  nature  a  little  more  it 
would  have  helped,  too,  and  I  know  a  little  food 
would  have  gone  a  long  ways.  But  nature  didn't 
seem  to  need  us,  and  we  didn't  need  nature.  And 
all  the  food  and  water  were  gone,  though  pretty 
soon  I  didn't  care  for  that,  either.  I  didn't  even 


i6o         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

care  much  when  I  saw  a  big  steamer  coming  right 
toward  us.  I  was  glad,  of  course,  but  I  didn't  care 
enough  to  make  any  hurrah  over  it,  and  neither  did 
the  men.  But  after  we'd  been  carried  on  board, 
and  I'd  got  through  with  a  plate  of  soup,  down  in 
the  Captain's  room,  I  says;  'What  day  is  it,  Cap 
tain?'  'Why,'  he  says,  'didn't  you  know?  It's 
Easter  Sunday.'  '  No/  I  says,  '  but  the  Lord  be 
praised.'  ' 

The  glisten  in  Edith  Gale's  eyes  had  become 
tears.  Captain  Biffer  and  I  had  had  our  differ 
ences.  Perhaps  in  a  general  way  he  still  believed 
me  an  ass.  But  I  had  walked  over  and  taken  his 
hand  before  I  remembered  it. 

"  I  want  to  shake  a  brave  man's  hand,"  I  said. 

"  Mr.  Larkins,"  said  Gale,  "  suppose  you  give  us 
your  experience.  What's  the  best  thing  to  keep  up 
on  through  a  long  dark  night?  " 

"Well,  Admiral,"  began  Mr.  Larkins,  "I've 
never  been  shipwrecked,  but  I  remember  something 
about  a  dark  night,  and  a  man  as  got  out  into  the 
wet  of  it.  It  was  tin  year  ago,  and  I  was  comin' 
out  of  Manchester  on  the  bark  Mary  Collins, 
bound  fer  Bombay.  She  was  a  shlow  old  tow- 
boat,  an'  the  sailors  were  makin'  fun  of  her  from 
the  shtarrt.  But  there  was  one  felly,  named 
Doolan,  who  kep'  at  it  continual,  an'  repeatin'  all 
day  that  he  could  shwim  to  Bombay  sooner  than  we 


A  LONG  FAREWELL,  161 

could  get  there  on  the  Mary  Collins.  '  An/ 
Doolan/  I  says,  '  you  may  get  a  chance  to  thry  it, 
if  we  hit  one  o'  thim  shqualls  that  I  run  into  here 
two  year  ago.'  An'  it  was  the  next  night  that  we 
did  that  same,  an'  Doolan  was  up  on  the  top-s'l 
yarrd.  An'  whin  the  thwist  of  the  shquall  hit 
Doolan,  he  wint  off  wid  a  whoop  an'  a  currvin' 
ploonge,  an'  one  of  the  men  below  yells  out  '  Man 
overboard ! '  an'  heaves  a  life-buoy  into  the  black 
ness  of  it.  But  by  the  time  we  could  put  her  about 
in  that  shquall,  an'  get  back,  there  was  no  Doolan. 
We  hadn't  expected  there  would  be.  For  whin  a 
man  dhrifts  ashtern  in  a  shquall  on  a  darrk  night 
his  name  may  shtay  Doolan,  but  it's  more  than 
likely  to  be  Dinnis.  So  afther  callin'  an'  showin"' 
lights  a  bit,  we  wint  on  to  Bombay  in  the  direction 
that  Doolan  might  be  shwimmin',  if  he  had  a  mind, 
now,  to  thry.  An'  whin  we  got  to  Bombay  an'  I 
wint  to  the  Cushtom  House  an'  walked  in,  I  see  a 
felly  bthandin'  by  the  rail,  an'  a-grinnin',  an'  by  the 
Ghost  of  me  Great  Gran' mother  if  it  wasn't 
Doolan !  '  Don't  be  frightened,  sur,'  he  says,  '  it's 
me.'  '  An'  Doolan! '  I  says,  '  an'  how  did  you  get 
here?  '  Shwimmin','  says  Doolan,  'an'  I  told  you 
I  could  beat  the  Mary  Collins.' 

"  But  it  wasn't  shwimmin'  that  saved  Doolan, 
ner  food,  ner  reshponsibility,  ner  even  the  beauties 
of  nature,  though  he  had  a  chance  durin'  the  night 
he  fell  over  to  view  thim  at  close  range.  It  was 


162         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

the  life-buoy  that  saved  Doolan,  an'  kep'  him  floatin' 
till  he  was  picked  up  next  mornin'  by  a  shmarter 
boat  that  beat  the  Mary  Collins  to  Bombay  by  one 
tide.  I'm  not  sayin'  but  that  the  others  air  sush- 
tainin'  too,  but  it  was  the  life-buoy  that  saved 
Doolan." 

"  There  are  many  kinds  of  life-buoys,  Mr. 
Larkins,"  laughed  Edith  Gale,  and  I  confess  that 
Mr.  Doolan  seems  to  have  found  the  one  best  suited 
to  his  needs.  What  is  your  experience,  Mr. 
Emory?  " 

The  quiet  Second  Officer  was  silent  for  a  mo 
ment,  and  his  face  saddened. 

"  I  was  shipwrecked  once,"  he  said.  "  We  lost 
our  vessel  and  drifted  for  a  long  time  in  a  leaky 
boat.  A  good  many  died.  I  was  kept  up  by  the 
memory  of  a  girl,  waiting  for  me  at  home.  When 
I  got  there " 

Mr.  Emory  paused  as  if  to  gather  himself.  It 
had  grown  very  still  in  the  saloon. 

"  She  was  dead,"  he  concluded,  "  so  you  see  my 
shipwreck  and  dark  night  are  not  over  yet." 

Our  narrow  round  had  indeed  brought  us  close 
together.  I  doubt  if  Emory  had  ever  spoken  of 
this  before  to  any  one.  Edith  Gale  laid  her  hand 
on  his  arm. 

"  And  she  is  still  waiting,"  she  said,  "  you  must 
not  forget  that." 


A  LONG  FAREWELL.  163 

"  Suppose  we  hear  from  you,  Chase,"  said  Gale, 
after  a  pause. 

Matters  had  taken  rather  an  unexpected  turn.  I 
felt  that  I  could  not  discuss  what  would  best  sus 
tain  me  through  the  dark  night  ahead  without  put 
ting  myself  and  one  other  person  in  a  trying  posi 
tion.  I  made  an  effort  to  gain  time. 

"  I  think  we  should  hear  from  the  Admiral,  now," 
I  said. 

"Oh,  well,"  said  Gale,  "I'm  not  bashful  if  I 
have  got  new  clothes  on.  Here's  a  few  observa 
tions  that  I've  jotted  down  from  time  to  time,  not 
especially  for  a  dark  night,  but  for  any  old  night, 
or  day  either,  when  you  happen  to  think  about  'em. 
Gale  straightened  back  and  pulled  down  his  vest 
comfortably.  "  Seventeen  Observations,"  he  be 
gan,  "  by  Chauncey  Gale.  Homes  and  Firesides  a 
Specialty." 

I.  "  This  is  a  good  world  if  we  just  think  so. 
The  toothache  is  about  the  worst  thing  in  it,  and 
we  can  have  the  tooth  pulled. 

II.  "  There  ain't  so  many  mistakes  in  this  world 
as  people  think.     A  man's  pretty  apt  to  get  where 
he  belongs  by  the  time  he's  forty. 

III.  "  It's  easy  to  get  rich  if  people  only  know  it. 
Most  folks  want  to  make  too  hard  work  of  it. 

IV.  "  There  may  be  men   who  could   get   rich 
playing  poker,  but  I've  only  happened  to  meet  the 
ones  that  had  tried  it. 


1 64         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

V.  "  It  isn't  hard  work  to  judge  human  nature  if 
you  let  the  other  man  do  the  talking. 

VI.  "  A  man's  word  may  be  as  good  as  his  bond, 
but  if  it  is  he  won't  mind  giving  his  bond,  too. 

VII.  "  The  commuter  who  keeps  his  lawn  mowed 
is  a  gentleman.     If  he  mows  the  vacant  lot  next  to 
him,  he's  fit  for  a  better  world. 

VIII.  "  Many  a  man  is  a  blamed  fool  with  the 
best  intentions  in  the  world. 

IX.  "  A  free  show  may    be  a  good  show,  but  if 
it  is,  the  crowd  will  pay  for  it. 

X.  "  A  mosquito  has  no  fear  of  death,  and  a 
pound  of  them  will  ruin  the  best  addition  ever  laid 
out. 

XL  "  Luck  is  a  good  thing,  but  it's  the  men  that 
don't  count  on  it  that  mostly  have  it. 

XII.  "It  isn't  the  biggest  creature  that  can  stand 
the  most  pnuishment.     A  lick  that  will  only  amuse 
a  fly  will  kill  a  baby. 

XIII.  "  Distance  depends  a  good  deal  on  how 
fast  a  man  can  walk.     No  addition  should  be  more 
than  five  minutes  from  the  station. 

XIV.  "  A   man   can   enjoy  leisure  just  as   well 
while  he's  waiting  for  a  train  as  any  other  time  if 
he'll  only  think  so. 

XV.  "  I  never  saw  a  failure    yet    that    wasn't 
worth  more  than  it  cost,  if  the  fellow  that  failed 
made  use  of  it 


A  LONG  FAREWELL.  165 

XVI.  "  The  best  way  to  make  yourself  liked  is 
to  make  yourself  worth  liking. 

XVII.  "  Never  laugh  at  a  lunatic's  plans.     The 
biggest  fool  scheme  to-day  may  be  a  sound  business 
proposition  to-morrow." 

Gale  sat  down  amid  enthusiasm.  Most  of  his 
observations  were  not  new  in  substance,  and  some 
of  them  I  did  not  altogether  agree  with,  but  in  them 
all  I  recognized  the  characteristic  philosophy  that 
had  made  Chauncey  Gale  the  man  I  had  learned  to 
admire,  and  even  to  love.  His  last  "  observation," 
though  uncomplimentary  in  form,  explained  to  me 
our  presence  in  Bottle  Bay  at  this  moment.  I 
would  endeavor  to  make  it  hold  good. 

"  Come,  Chase,  it's  your  turn,  now !  " 

"  This,"  I  said,  rising,  "  is  something  I  did  while 
wandering  about  the  docks  of  New  York  City. 
The  editors  that  saw  it  didn't  care  for  it,  and  I 
don't  care  very  much  for  it  now,  myself.  I  have 
altered  my  opinion  about  some  things  since  then — 
not  about  the  sea,  I  mean,  but  about  the — the  most 
sustaining — that  is,  through  a  dark  night — I 
mean,  that  is — now " 

"  Never  mind  what  you  mean  now,"  said  Gale. 
"  Suppose  you  read  it  and  let  us  see  if  we  can  tell 
what  you  meant  then." 

I  was  glad  enough  for  this  interruption,  and  pro 
ceeded,  forthwith : 


1 66         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

SEA  HERITAGE. 

I  was  born  with  the  sea  in  my  blood — 
The  sea  with  its  surge  and  its  flow — 

The  voice  of  the  tide  at  its  flood 
Keeps  calling  and  calling  to  me, 

And  sooner  or  later  I  know 
I  must  go  back  to  the  sea. 

I  hear  it  pound  in  the  dark  : 

The  salt  mist  creeps  to  my  brain 
As  I  lean  from  my  window  and  hark 

To  the  voice  that  keeps  shouting  for  me 
In  vain — and  yet,  not  in  vain, 

For  I  shall  go  back  to  the  sea. 

I  long  for  the  leap  of  the  spray — 
I  lust  for  the  swirl  of  the  brine — 

Though  lingering  day  after  day 
(Land  fetters  still  cumbering  me) 

Some  morn  I  shall  claim  what  is  mine — 
I  will  rise— I  will  go  to  the  sea. 

It  may  be  a  year,  or  a  day — 

It  may  be  to-morrow — God  knows  ! 
When,  to  answer,  I'll  up  and  away, 

But  when  and  wherever  it  be, 
This  birthright  is  bound  to  foreclose — 

I  must  go  back  to  the  sea  ! 

"  Well,  yes,"  commented  Gale,  as  I  sat  down. 
"  I  seem  to  gather  what  you  were  driving  at  then, 
but  it  didn't  seem  to  me  you  meant  quite  the  same 
thing  the  day  we  sailed." 

Edith  Gale  came  out  of  a  reverie  to  join  in  the 


A  LONG  FAREWELL.  167 

laugh.  I  wondered  if  she  knew  what  I  had  meant 
by  my  floundering  about  before  beginning  the 
verses — if  she  realized  that  a  word,  or  perhaps  three 
words,  from  her  would  mean  more  to  me  now  than 
all  the  seas  and  lands  of  earth. 

But  Ferratoni,  at  a  signal  from  Gale,  had  arisen. 
For  days  he  had  been  as  one  in  a  dream.  We  had 
thought  him  depressed  by  the  oncoming  night.  It 
seems  doubtful,  now,  that  he  even  realized  that 
there  was  a  night. 

"Force!"  he  began.  "In  that  word  lies  the 
secret  of  all  the  worlds  and  skies. 

"  Force,  and  its  visible  symbol,  vibration ! 

"  Sound — it  is  vibration — all  know  it. 

"  Heat,  light,  color,  Electricity — they  are  vibra 
tions  : — many  recognize  it. 

"  Life,  thought,  soul — these,  too,  are  vibrations, 
yet  more  subtle : — I  have  proved  it. 

"  And  from  vibrations — harmony. 

"  Music — the  fitting  together  or  chording  of 
sounds — the  union  of  vibrations — it  is  the  form  all 
know,  it  has  soothed  and  charmed  so  many." 

He  paused  and  looked  toward  Edith  Gale. 

"  Beauty,"  he  continued,  "  that  which  you  so  well 
offer  to  men  as  spirit  sustenance,  what  js  it  but  the 
combining  of  life  and  color  vibrations  into  chords 
which  bring  joy  to  those  whose  souls  awake  to  an 
swer? 


168         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

"  Harmony — it  is  Nature's  law.  Only  the 
hand  of  man  may  work  discord.  Left  undisturbed 
for  even  a  brief  period,  the  wood  and  the  stream, 
the  meadow  and  the  hill,  fall  into  rhyme  and  melody, 
while  from  the  sun  and  moon  falls  a  quiver 
ing  glory  of  light,  and  voices  of  the  air  come  whis 
pering  or  shouting  past  to  blend  more  perfectly  the 
elemental  chord." 

His  eyes  wandered  about  to  the  others  in  the 
room. 

"  Lives  vibrating  to  lives — the  chord  is  friend 
ship."  His  gaze  came  back  to  Edith  Gale,  then  to 
me.  "  Soul  vibrates  to  soul — the  chord  is  love." 

During  the  brief  silence  which  followed  this 
there  was  no  question  as  to  vibrations  on  my  part. 
They  were  distinct  waves,  in  fact,  and  I  did  not 
dare  to  look  otherwise  than  straight  ahead. 

"  For  myself,"  he  continued,  and  I  breathed 
again,  "  I  have  found  the  way  of  mental  unity 
which  means  the  voiceless  speaking." 

He  motioned  to  Miss  Gale,  who  struck  a  chord 
on  the  harp  near  her.  From  the  strings  of  the 
piano  across  the  room  came  a  faint  yet  perfect  an 
swer. 

"  That,"  he  said—"  it  contains  it  all.  Thus  the 
electric  chords  answer  to  each  other  and  we  speak 
without  wires  across  the  spaces.  So  the  vibra 
tions  of  the  thought  awaken  in  the  mind  of  an- 


A  LONG  FAREWELL.  169 

other  their  echo,  and  men  are  made  to  know,  and 
may  answer,  without  words." 

Once  more  he  paused,  and  we  had  somehow  a 
feeling  that  he  was  drifting  away  from  us.  When 
he  spoke  again  there  was  in  his  voice  the  quality  of 
one  who,  listening  to  faint  far-off  words,  tries  to 
repeat  them. 

"  Somewhere,"  he  said,  "  from  out  of  the  land 
we  are  about  to  enter — there  is  seeking  us  now 
such  a  message.  It  comes  far  through  the  spaces — 
the  strings  of  my  thought  are  not  perfectly  adjusted 
to  its  tuning.  Here,  in  the  close  union  of  our  daily 
round  the  difficulty  is  not.  We  have  become  in 
mental  adjustment — our  minds  have  formed  in  a 
chord  to  which  it  is  not  strange  that  I,  who  have 
given  my  life  to  such  research,  should  have  found 
the  key — should  have  become  able  to  know  without 
words,  as  in  another  way  I  have  been  able  to  hear 
without  wires." 

He  roused,  as  it  were,  and  once  more  came  back 
to  us — to  me,  in  fact. 

'  You,"  he  continued,  "  are  at  this  instant  won 
dering  if  what  I  said  of  the  answering  soul  be  true. 
It  is,  and  you  shall  presently  know  it.  You,"  turn 
ing  to  Gale,  "  are  thinking  of  the  hour.  You 
wished  to  consult  your  watch  and  hesitated  out  of 
consideration  for  me.  You  have  no  need.  The 
Captain  who  sits  behind  you  has  just  done  so,  and 


1 70         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

it  lacks  still  a  half-hour  of  midday."  He  turned 
to  Zar,  who  thus  far  had  been  a  silent  observer  of 
the  ceremonies.  "  You,"  he  said,  "  are  remember 
ing  a  little  sunny  cabin  in  the  North,  where  thirty 
years  ago  you  lived  with  your  little  ones  about  you. 
One  of  them  is  grown,  now;  the  others  are  dead.*' 

Zar  had  comprehended  little  or  nothing  of  what 
had  gone  before  of  Ferratoni's  words.  She  had 
been  in  a  reverie,  but  at  this  point  she  sprang  to 
her  feet  excitedly. 

"  Good  Lawd !  "  she  cried,  "  what  kin'  o'  man  is 
dat?  Stan'  here  an'  tell  me  jes'  puzzacly  what  I 
thinkin'  dat  berry  minute!  I  gwine  out  o'  here!  I 
not  gwine  stay  in  no  sech  place!  " 

She  set  out  hastily  for  the  door.  Her  outbreak 
had  brought  the  needed  relaxation,  and  we  all 
laughed. 

"  Come  back,"  called  Gale.  "  You  haven't  made 
your  speech  yet.  We  want  to  hear  what  you  have 
to  say." 

The  old  woman  turned  suddenly. 

"  All  right,  den  I  tell  you  what  I  got  to  say!  Fs 
mighty  good  an'  tired  dis  heah  country!  Dat's 
what  I  got  to  say !  Heah  we  come  off  f'm  a  good 
civilianized  Ian'  wheah  de  sun  git  up  an'  go  to  bed 
same  as  people  do,  an'  come  off  heah  wheah  de  sun 
git  up  ha'f  way,  an'  cain't  git  up  no  furdah,  and 
cain't  git  back  nohow,  but  jes'  stay  dar  week  in  an: 


A  LONG  FAREWELL.  171 

week  out,  an'  keep  hones'  folks  awake,  an'  den  when 
it  do  git  down  cain't  git  up  ag'in,  an'  de  whole  woiT 
freeze  up  a-waitin'  foh  hit.  An'  what  we  come 
foh  ?  Why,  to  fin'  a'  old  pole  what  can  be  pick'  up 
in  anybody's  wood-pile,  free  foh  ca'yin'  off!  Come 
down  heah  aftah  a  pole!  What  kin'  o'  pole  you 
reck'n'  gwine  grow  in  such  place,  anyhow  ?  I  sh'd 
say  pole!  Why,  you  couldn't  grow  a  bean  pole! 
You  couldn't  grow  a  wilier  squicli  like  I  use  to 
keep  foh  a  little  girl  what  need  hit  now — bringin' 
her  ole  mammy  off  down  heah  to  freeze  up  in  dis 
ice-jug!  Come  aftah  a  pole  an'  fine  a  hole,  dat's 
what  we  done!  No  won'er  Mistah  Macaroni  know 
what  I  thinkin'  'bout,  when  hit  all  freeze  up 
an'  stay  heah,  'stid  o'  gwine  wheah  hit  b'long!" 
The  old  woman  paused  an  instant  for  breath,  then 
in  a  deep  voice  of  warning  concluded  her  arraign 
ment.  "  An'  what  kin'  o'  great  black  beas'  gwine 
come  an'  get  dis  ship  befo'  we  all  see  mo'nin'  ? 
What  great  black  monstah  comin'  outen  dis  long 
black  night  what  you-all  mention?  I  know — hit 
Deff!  Dat  what  comin' — Deff !  Gwine  out  to  say 
good-by  to  de  sun,  is  you?  Well,  you  bettah, 
caise  when  dat  sun  git  roun'  dis  way  ag'in,  if  hit 
evah  do,  hit's  my  'pinion  dat  hit  wait  a  long  time 
befo'  wr-all  come  out  to  say  '  Howdy ! ' 

The  old  woman  flung  herself  out  of  the  saloon. 
We  laughed,  but  her  final  words  had  not  been  en- 


172         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

tircly  without  effect.     It  was  by  no  means  impossi 
ble  that  during  the  long  night  the  "  black  beast " 
would  come,  and  that  the  returning  sun  would  find 
fewer  to  bid  it  welcome. 

"  I  think  she  speaks  not  with  the  spirit  of 
prophecy,"  said  Ferratoni,  but  nevertheless  we 
grew  rather  silent  as  we  passed  Into  the  gloom 
without.  Edith  Gale  and  I  ascended  to  the  bridge. 
The  others  did  not  follow,  but  huddled  forward  to 
the  bow.  It  lacked  still  ten  minutes  of  midday. 

We  now  saw  that  the  sky  overhead  was  thick,  but 
clear-streaked  in  the  north.  Where  the  sun  would 
appear  there  was  a  sorrowful  semblance  of  dawn. 
Far  across  the  black,  frozen  wastes,  chill  bands  of 
red  and  orange  glowed  feebly  amid  heavier  bands 
of  dusk  violet.  Profound,  overpowering,  the  in 
finite  dark  and  cold  were  upon  us.  Before  it, 
philosophies  dwindled  and  the  need  of  warm  human 
touch  and  sympathy  came  powerfully  upon  us  all. 
Edith  Gale  did  not  speak,  and  instinctively  we  drew 
closer  together.  Somewhere  beneath  the  fur  wrap 
pings  my  hand  found  hers.  She  did  not  withdraw 
it.  The  caution  of  Chauncey  Gale  seemed  as  far 
off  as  the  place  where  he  had  spoken  it.  I  leaned 
nearer  to  her.  The  word  formed  itself  on  my  lips 
— I  could  not  be  blamed. 

"Sweetheart!"   I   whispered. 

She   did    not    answer — the    sun    was    coming. 


A  LONG  FAREWELL.  173 

Above  the  far  rim  it  showed  a  thin  rayless  edge. 
Between,  there  seemed  to  lie  a  million  miles  of 
frozen  sea.  We  watched  it  creep  slowly  west- 
ward.  It  was  not  a  real  sun,  but  a  wraith — a  vis 
ion  such  as  Dante  might  have  dreamed. 

Again,  leaning  near,  I  whispered  to  her;  and 
again,  just  at  first,  she  did  not  answer.  Then,  very 
softly : 

"  But  it  was  not  until  you  found  the  new  world 
that  you  were  to  claim  your  reward." 

My  heart  bounded.     She  had  remembered,  then. 

"  Yes — I  wish  only  to  name  it,  now." 

The  sun  that  had  grown  to  a  narrow  distorted 
segment  became  once  more  a  wavering  line. 

"  Wait."  she  said — "  not  now — to-morrow,  per 
haps — in  the  morning " 

"Morning?  Tt  is  months  till  then.  It  is  the 
long  night  I  am  thinking  of 

"  Yes,  I  know.  I  didn't  mean — I  meant "  and 

then  somehow  my  arm  had  found  its  way  about  her. 
and  she  was  close,  close,  and  did  not  draw  away. 

The  sun  went  out.  The  black  wall — the  black 
sea — the  great  black  Antarctic  Night  and  cold 
closed  in.  but  within  and  about  us  lay  the  ineffable 
glory  that  has  lighted  the  world  and  warmed  it 
since  man  first  looked  on  woman  and  found  her 
fair. 


XX. 

THE    LONG    DARK. 

I  CANNOT  attempt  to  picture  the  vast  Antarctic 
Night.  The  words  I  have  learned  were  never  in 
tended  to  convey  the  supreme  mightiness  of  the  Po 
lar  Dark.  Chauncey  Gale  has  referred  to  it  as 
"  Creation's  Cold  Storage."  I  am  willing  to  let  it 
go  at  that. 

In  the  electric  blaze  of  the  Billowcrest  we  made 
merry,  and  occupied  ourselves  usefully.  When  the 
cold  without  was  not  too  severe  we  went  snow-shoe 
ing  over  Bottle  Bay,  where  a  crust  of  ice  had  event 
ually  formed,  and  where  snow  grew  ever  deeper 
until  we  half  expected  to  be  overwhelmed.  Some 
times  we  heard  the  roaring  of  the  pack  outside,  but 
in  our  snug  harbor  we  felt  little  of  its  grinding  dis 
content.  How  much  we  were  warmed  by  our  cur 
rent  beneath  the  ice  we  could  not  know,  but  the 
thermometer  at  no  time  showed  more  than  30°  be 
low  zero.  I  have  seen  it  as  cold  in  northern  Ne 
braska. 

Neither  was  it  wholl     dark    in    clear  weather. 


THE  LONG  DARK.  175 

We  had  the  stars,  and  at  regular  intervals,  through 
our  harbor  gateway,  the  moon  looked  in.  Often 
it  was  a  weird,  distorted  moon — flattened  and 
wrinkled  by  radiations  of  cold  from  the  far-lying 
ice — but  always  welcome.  More  than  once  it  was 
doubly  and  even  trebly  welcome,  for  the  atmosphere 
was  responsible  for  some  curious  effects.  Once 
Gale  came  down  hastily  to  where  Edith  and  I  were 
deep  in  a  game  of  cribbage. 

"  I  want  you  and  Johnnie  to  come  on  deck  a  min 
ute,"  he  said  with  some  urgency,  "  I  want  you  to 
look  at  the  moon." 

We  arrayed  ourselves  and  obeyed.  Gale  led  the 
way  and  pointed  to  the  harbor  entrance. 

"  Nick,"  he  commanded,  "  I  want  you  and  John 
nie  to  tell  me  how  many  moons  you  see  there." 

My  hand  lay  on  Edith's  arm  and  I  gave  it  a  sig 
nificant  pressure. 

"  \Vhy,"  I  said,  "  I  see  one  moon,  of  course. 
How  many  do  you  want  me  to  see?  " 

"  I  hope,  papa,"  said  his  daughter  gravely,  "  that 
you  haven't  been  taking  too  much  wine.  You  know 
that  it  doesn't  agree  with  you.  It  makes  you  too 
stout,  and  now  that  it  affects  your  eyes  this  way, 
I  should  think  you  would  at  least  moderate  your  ap 
petite  for  strong  waters." 

"  Johnnie,"  said  Gale  severely,  "  you're  a  goose, 
as  usual.  But  on  the  dead,  now,  I  want  you  and 


i;6        THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

Nick  to  tell  me  how  many  moons  you  see  there.  I 
see  three.  If  you  only  see  one,  then  this  cold  stor 
age,  or  something  else,  has  got  into  my  eyes,  and 
it's  time  I  was  doing  something  for  it." 

We  assured  him,  then,  that  we  saw  what  he  did, 
one  real  moon  and  two  false  ones,  the  result  of  some 
strange  condition  of  the  air.  When  we  descended 
to  the  cabin,  Gale  followed  singing, 

"  Three  moons  rose  over  the  city  where  there  shouldn't  have  been 
but  one." 

Besides  these  things  we  had  the  Aurora  Aus- 
tralis,  though  from  our  position  under  the  ice- 
wall  we  seldom  got  a  direct  view  of  this  phenome 
non,  and  we  sometimes  made  excursions  into  the 
desolation  of  the  pack  to  view  it.  On  one  of  these 
we  were  separated  from  the  ship  by  a  wide  water 
way  that  opened  just  outside  the  harbor.  It 
seemed  a  serious  predicament  for  a  time,  but  the  lit 
tle  telephone,  which  we  always  carried,  promptly 
"  vibrated  "  a  message  to  the  ship,  and  our  balloon- 
boat-and-sled  combination  was  first  put  into  actual 
service  as  a  ferry  to  bring  us  safely  over.  From 
without,  our  harbor  entrance  had  seemed  a  portal  to 
the  lower  regions.  Crossing  to  it  in  the  boat  was 
like  being  ferried  over  the  river  Styx. 

To  me  the  days  did  not  drag,  though  to  others  of 
the  party  they  may  have  passed  less  swiftly.  Love 
did  not  speed  the  hours  for  them,  unless  in  the 


THE  LONG  DARK.  177 

sense  that  all  the  ship  loved  the  lovers,  and  in  mak 
ing  our  lives  interesting  for  us  they  found  sufficient 
entertainment  for  themselves.  Gale's  acceptance 
of  the  new  understanding  between  Edith  and  my 
self  had  been  characteristic  and  hearty. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  'tain't  my  fault.  Don't  come 
around  now,  you  and  Johnnie,  tryin'  to  hlame  it 
onto  me.  I  told  you  how  it  would  be.  Oh  Lord, 
what's  a  circus  without  monkeys ! "  He  took  our 
hands  then,  and  squeezed  them  together  in  one  big, 
splendid  palm.  "  Nicholas  Chase,"  he  went  on, 
"  you've  got  the  boat,  and  me,  arid  now  a  mortgage 
on  Johnnie.  If  there's  any  other  outlying  and  un 
attached  property  you'd  like  to  have,  just  name  it. 
And  if  you  don't  see  what  you  want  ask  for  it. 
Johnnie's  the  only  undivided  interest  I  had  left  that 
I  cared  anything  about,  and  if  you're  going  to  get 
that  you  might  as  well  have  all  the  rest."  But  at 
this  point  Edith  had  thrown  her  arms  about  his 
neck,  laughing  and  crying  at  once.  Happy  as  I 
was,  there  was  a  moment  or  two  just  then  in  which 
I  did  not  feel  entirely  comfortable. 

One  day,  perhaps  a  week  later,  when  we  came  in 
from  ,an  hour's  show-shoeing,  he  suddenly  greeted 
us  with : 

"  Look  here,  Johnnie,  how  did  it  come  you  didn't 
turn  Nick  down  like  the  others  ?  " 

My  sweetheart's  cheeks  were  already  aglow,  and 


12 


1 78        THE  GREA  T  WHITE  WA  Y. 

her  eyes  sparkling.  But  I  thought  there  came  an 
added  glow  and  sparkle  at  the  unexpected  question. 
Her  eyes  sent  a  quick  look  into  mine  that  warmed 
my  soul. 

"  Why,  you  see,  Daddy,  we — we  were  away  off 
down  here,  and — and  we  couldn't  afford  to  have 
any  unpleasantness  on  the  ship,  and " 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  see — I  see !  And  you're  going  to 
bounce  him  when  we  get  back  to  New  York. 
Great  girl!  Takes  after  her  Daddy." 

From  the  hand  that  rested  on  my  arm  she  had 
been  withdrawing  the  little  fur  mitten.  Now  a 
small  palm  and  some  cold  fingers  came  creeping  up 
into  mine  for  warmth,  and  to  bestow  a  reassuring 
pressure. 

"  But — but  don't  you  see,  Daddy, — I — I — we 
can't  afford  to  have  any  unpleasantness  there, 
either,"  she  said. 

We  had  a  long  series  of  whist  rubbers  in  the  cabin, 
and  entertainments  in  which  the  forecastle  was  fre 
quently  invited  to  join.  In  turn,  we  sometimes 
looked  in  on  the  forecastle,  or,  for  exercise,  took  a 
hand  with  the  sailors  in  clearing  snow  and  ice  from 
the  vessel.  Altogether  we  were  a  well-fed,  con 
tented  little  world — a  warm,  bright  spot  in  a  wide 
waste  of  dark  and  cold — and  even  Zar  grew  stout 
and  comfortable,  and  more  considerate  of  my  feel 
ings. 


THE  LONG  DARK.  179 

"  I  can  stay  heah  jes'  as  long  as  de  boat  stays  and 
de  perwision  hold  out,"  was  her  frequent  assertion. 
"  Mistah  Sturritt  certney  is  a  mighty  good  perwid- 
er."  And  Mr  Sturritt  deserved  this  compliment, 
for  whatever  may  have  been  his  eccentricities  in  the 
matter  of  tablets,  as  our  regular  commissary,  he  ap 
peared  to  be  a  complete  and  continuous  success. 

As  spring  approached  and  the  return  of  the  sun 
drew  near,  preparations  for  scaling  the  ice-wall  and 
for  the  journey  inland  were  perfected.  Our  bal 
loon,  the  Cloudcrest,  was  carefully  overhauled,  and 
our  boat-car  furnished  with  all  the  requirements  of 
an  extended  voyage,  should  we  find,  after  making 
observations,  such  an  undertaking  to  be  advisable. 
The  boat  was  very  light  and  had  air-tight  aluminum 
compartments,  as  well  as  many  water-tight  com 
partments  for  our  stores.  Mr  Sturritt' s  condensed 
food  lozenges,  which  we  had  all  tested  and  voted  a 
success,  were  variously  distributed. 

"  We  don't  want  to  carry  all  our  pills  in  one 
box,"  explained  Gale,  "  and  say,  Bill,  don't  you 
think  we'd  better  leave  one  place  for  a  few  old-fash 
ioned  sandwiches?  Just  to  start  on,  you  know; 
then  we  can  kind  o'  taper  off  onto  tablets,  as  it  were. 
You've  fed  us  too  well  through  the  winter  to  jump 
right  into  pills  at  the  drop  of  the  hat." 

So  a  place  for  sandwiches  was  left;  also  places 
for  field-glasses  and  other  instruments,  as  well  as 


i8o         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

for  furs  and  sleeping-bags,  which  were  likely  to  be 
needed,  we  thought,  in  the  early  stages  of  the  jour 
ney.  For  ballast,  instead  of  sand,  we  filled  bags 
with  zinc  filings,  these  to  be  used  later  in  making 
hydrogen  for  replenishing  the  balloon.  It  is  true 
we  thought  it  more  than  likely  that  we  should  re 
turn  in  some  new  fashion,  to  be  provided  by  the 
Antarcticans,  but  we  believed  it  well  to  be  prepared 
for  emergencies.  Our  propeller  for  both  wind  and 
water  was  now  thoroughly  tested,  the  retorts  for 
making  the  gas  were  complete  and  ready,  and  all 
grew  impatient  at  last  for  the  day  when  we  were  to 
make  our  trial  ascension. 

Ferratoni,  I  think,  was  more  eager  than  the 
others.  He  seemed  convinced  now  that  not  only 
were  there  human  beings  beyond  the  barrier,  but 
that  they  knew  of  us,  and  waited  for  our  coming. 
In  just  what  form  this  had  "  vibrated  "  to  him  he 
could  not  quite  explain,  and  in  fact  rarely  attempted 
to  do  so.  He  was  quite  willing,  however,  to  exper 
iment  with  us  in  telepathy,  or,  as  he  termed  it,  in  the 
chording  of  mental  vibrations,  through  which 
he  could  often  follow  a  train  of  thought  in  another 
with  a  success  that  was  certainly  interesting,  and 
even  startling. 

It  appeared  in  no  sense  to  be  a  gift  with  Ferra 
toni,  but  a  scientific  attainment,  acquired  by  patient 
and  gradual  steps.  He  claimed  that  the  principle 


THE  LONG  DARK.  181 

of  it  was  quite  as  simple  as  that  of  the  answering 
musical  or  electric  vibrations — in  fact,  the  same. 
We  grew  to  accept  this  theory  in  time,  though  we 
made  little  progress  in  its  application.  Perhaps  our 
minds  were  too  full  of  other  things. 

To  Ferratoni  all  the  problems  of  the  ages  re 
solved  themselves  into  Chorded  Vibrations 

'  There  is  no  change  in  the  individual  at  death," 
he  said  to  me  one  day.  "  It  is  simply  a  moving  out 
of  the  old  house.  The  life  vibration — the  intelli 
gence  — remains  the  same.  I  shall  be  able  by  and 
by  to  chord  and  communicate  with  those  no  longer 
in  the  Physical  House." 

Later,  when  I  saw  Edith,  I  said : 

"  The  long  night  is  telling  on  Ferratoni.  He  is 
becoming  a  spiritualist." 

Edith  Gale  looked  thoughtful. 

"  If  he  does,  he  will  be  a  scientific  one,"  she  said, 
"  and  able  to  demonstrate  reasonably  the  how  and 
why  of  his  inter-spheric  communications.  If  all  he 
says  of  his  chorded  vibrations  be  true,  who  shall  say 
how  far,  and  through  what  dim  spaces  they  may 
not  answer?  " 

You  see,  we  had  had  time  to  speculate  on  a  good 
many  things  during  the  long  Antarctic  Night. 
Even  in  an  ordinary  night,  between  the  hours  of 
three  and  five  in  the  morning,  strange  problems 
come  drifting  in  and  the  boundary  lines  between 


1 82         THE  ORE  A  T  WHITE  WA  Y. 

substance  and  shadow  waver.  Keep  this  up  for  a 
period  of  months,  without  a  break  of  sunlight,  and 
one's  skepticism  on  almost  any  point  begins  to  tot 
ter.  At  the  end  of  the  third  month,  if  Ferratoni 
had  announced  that  he  could  render  himself  invis 
ible  and  transport  himself  to  any  point  of  the  com 
pass  at  will,  we  would  have  been  less  surprised  than 
eager  to  learn  the  process ;  and  had  Mr.  Sturritt  sud 
denly  declared  that  he  had  perfected  a  lozenge  which 
would  confer  eternal  youth,  I  feel  certain  that  any 
of  us  would  have  been  willing  to  accept  a  trial  pack 
age. 


XXI. 

AN   ARRIVAL  AND   A   DEPARTURE. 

CURIOUSLY  enough  the  sun  made  its  first  chill, 
brief  reappearance  on  the  anniversary  of  our  sail 
ing.  Chill  and  brief  it  was,  but  that  thin  edge  of 
light  skirting  the  far  northern  horizon  meant  to  all 
who  saw  it  new  hope,  and  a  new  hold  on  the  reali 
ties  of  life. 

The  sky  there  had  for  some  time  been  growing 
redder  each  day,  and  more  than  once  we  believed 
that  the  Captain's  calculation  would  be  proved  at 
fault,  and  that  the  sun  itself  must  appear.  But  the 
Captain's  mathematics  were  sound,  and  the  sun  was 
on  schedule  time.  In  spite  of  Zar's  prophecy  we 
were  all  there  to  bid  it  "  howdy,"  and  there  was  not 
a  soul  on  board,  from  the  Admiral  to  the  cook,  that 
sent  "  regrets  "  to  that  reception.  Captain  Biffer 
had  "  bent  on  "  a  stiff  new  shirt  for  the  occasion, 
and  was  smiling  and  triumphant. 

"  Wheah  you  reckon  dat  sun  shinin'  warm, 
now?"  Zar  asked  in  an  awed  voice. 

"  In  New  York  City,"  answered  her  mistress, 
"  just  as  it  was  the  dav  we  sailed." 

'83 


1 84         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

"  Shall  we  be  back  there  a  year  from  now?  "  I 
asked. 

She  held  my  arm  close.  Chauncey  Gale  an 
swered. 

"  I  will.  Too  far  away  from  the  Bowery  down 
here." 

But  Ferratoni,  who  stood  next  me,  said — speak 
ing  to  himself,  and  so  low  that  only  I  heard  it — 

"  Not  all  of  us  will  return." 

I  did  not  seem  to  hear,  either,  and  I  doubt  if  he 
knew  that  he  had  spoken ;  but  a  thing  said  like  thai 
creates  an  impression,  and  it  set  me  to  wondering. 
Then  the  brief  exhibition  was  over,  and  we  de 
scended  hastily  to  the  warmth  and  feast  waiting  for 
us  below. 

There  would  be  still  nearly  two  months  before  we 
were  willing  to  attempt  our  journey  inland.  We 
did  not  much  care  to  face  darkness  in  unknown 
wastes,  and  our  continuous  day  would  not  begin 
until  late  in  October.  We  were  determined,  how 
ever,  to  make  much  sooner  the  trial  ascension  for 
the  purposes  of  observation,  and  to  test  the  carrying 
power  of  the  Cloudcrest.  By  the  middle  of  Sep 
tember  our  days  were  of  good  length,  and  on  the 
twentieth  the  divisions  of  light  and  darkness  would 
be  equal.  We  decided  to  make  our  preliminary  as 
cension  on  that  day. 

It  was  only  by  chance  that  Edith  Gale  missed  tak- 


ARRIVAL  AND  DEPARTURE.       185 

ing  part  in  this  momentous  event.  She  had  begged 
to  be  allowed  to  do  so,  and  while  neither  Gale  nor  I 
approved  of  her  going,  we  had  more  than  half  con 
sented  when  Ferratoni  came  to  our  rescue  by  sug 
gesting  that  we  ought  by  all  means  to  make  the  car 
rying  test  with  just  those  who  expected  to  under 
take  the  voyage  later. 

This,  both  Gale  and  I  declared,  was  a  weighty  ar 
gument,  and  my  fiancee  at  length  yielded,  though  I 
must  confess  with  but  a  poor  show  of  either  filial  or 
spousal  obedience.  She  had  been  quite  prepared  to 
undertake  a  voyage,  too,  and  even  this  wild  notion 
had  not  been  surrendered  without  severe  reasoning. 

"  One  of  this  firm's  got  to  stay  with  the  ship," 
Gale  had  said,  finally.  "  Now,  if  you're  going  with 
the  balloon,  Johnnie,  who's  going  to  stay?  Nick 
or  me? " 

She  gave  it  up,  then,  and  perhaps  she  had  never 
been  really  serious  in  the  matter.  Only  she 
couldn't  bear  the  thought  of  our  going  away  into 
the  undiscovered  lands  without  her.  No  one  but 
Ferratoni  and  Mr.  Sturritt  were  to  accompany  Gale 
and  myself  on  the  voyage  inland,  and  Mr.  Sturritt 
only  on  condition  that  the  balloon  in  its  trial  ascen 
sion  proved  amply  buoyant.  He  had  counted  on  it 
from  the  first,  having  been  with  Gale  in  every  un 
dertaking  for  many  years.  Then,  too,  he  wished  to 
attend  personally  to  our  experiments  with  the  food 
lozenge. 


1 86         THE  GREA  T  WHITE  WA  Y. 

We  were  astir  early  on  the  morning  of  the  twen 
tieth,  and  had  the  gas  going  and  the  balloon  inflated 
by  ten  o'clock.  It  was  a  clear  winter  morning,  but 
still,  and  to  us  it  seemed  warm.  Our  entire  popula 
tion  was  gathered  for  the  occasion. 

"  So  you  gwine  to  sail  off  into  space,  now,  is 
yeh?  "  observed  Zar,  as  we  prepared  to  start. 

'  Yes,  and  your  Miss  Edith  is  going  along,"  I 
answered,  jestingly. 

Zar  whirled  about. 

"  Look  heah,  honey !  You  don't  mean  to  say  you 
gwine  up  in  dat  skiff  to  pernavigate  de  skies,  does 
yeh?" 

"  Of  course,  Zar.     Why  not?  " 

Miss  Gale  made  a  move  as  if  to  take  her  place  in 
the  boat,  but  the  old  woman,  with  a  nimbleness  and 
strength  not  consistent  with  her  years,  suddenly 
stepped  forward  and  bore  her  off  bodily,  as  she  had 
so  often  done  in  childhood. 

"  Put  me  down,  Zar!  "  pleaded  Miss  Gale,  "  put 
me  down !  I  won't  go — I  promise !  " 

The  old  woman  set  her  mistress  upright  and  re 
garded  her  sternly. 

"  Well,  I  dess  reckon  you  won't,  honey,"  she  an 
nounced,  "  lessen  you  walk  ovah  my  old  dead  body ! 
You  wouldn't  come  on  dis  trip  ef  I'd  knowed 
wheah  we-all  comin'  to.  I  mighty  tiahd  sech  fool- 


ARRIVAL  AND  DEPARTURE.       187 

ishness,  an'  dey  ain'  gwine  be  no  moah  of  it!  Air- 
skiff  !  Humph  !  I  guess  not !  " 

We  were  all  ready  now.  By  a  short,  stout  rope. 
running  from  a  stanchion  through  a  ring  in  the 
deck  to  another  ring  in  the  bottom  of  our  boat-car 
and  thus  back  to  the  stanchion  again,  our  balloon 
was  held  close  captive.  Coiled  on  the  deck  beside 
us  lay  twenty-five  hundred  feet  of  smaller  rope,  one 
end  of  it  attached  to  the  ring  beneath  the  car,  and 
the  other  lashed  firmly  about  an  iron  "  bit  " — thus 
constituting  our  anchorage  while  aloft.  The 
Cloudcrest  was  very  large,  certainly,  and  pulled 
desperately  in  the  clear,  cold  air,  but  it  did  not  seem 
possible  that  she  would  be  able  to  lift  all  that  great 
length  of  line.  A  little  more  than  a  hundred  yards 
away  was  the  perpendicular  blue  barrier  of  ice,  be 
yond  whose  lofty  summit  we  hoped  soon  to  look. 
Our  shorter  anchorage  was  all  that  detained  us,  and 
a  man  stood  ready  with  a  keen  knife,  to  sever  at  the 
word.  When  ready  to  descend  we  had  only  to 
open  the  valve  above  and  let  out  the  gas.  We  ex 
pected  to  be  back  in  an  hour. 

Chauncey  Gale  took  his  seat  last.  He  kissed  his 
daughter  as  if  he  were  starting  on  a  journey.  This 
inclination  had  seized  me  also,  but  not  the  resolution 
so  I  had  merely  pressed  her  hand.  All  except  the 
man  with  the  knife  drew  back. 

"  Readv !     One,  two,  three,  cut !  " 


i88         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

There  was  a  sharp  hissing  sound,  a  sudden  up 
ward  jerk,  and  a  white  world  fell  away  beneath  us. 
The  cold  air  rushed  by  and  took  our  breath.  Then 
presently  it  passed  less  swiftly.  The  weight  of  our 
anchor  rope  was  beginning  to  tell.  Like  Alice  fall 
ing  into  Wonderland  we  were  going  slowly  enough 
at  length  to  take  in  things  as  we  went  along.  There 
were  no  empty  jam-pots,  but  the  swift  panorama  of 
the  stratified  wall  was  interesting.  Ferratoni 
handed  me  the  telephone. 

"All  right,  below?"  I  called. 

"  All  right!  came  the  voice  of  Edith  Gale,  "but 
how  small  you  are  getting!" 

"  We  feel  bigger  than  we  look !  " 

"Is  Daddy  all  right?" 

'  Yes,  he's  getting  out  a  sleeping-bag,  so  if  he 
feels  cold  he  can  get  into  it." 

Gale  seized  the  transmitter. 

"  Slander,"  he  called.  "  We've  already  found 
two  hot  bricks  in  Nick's  pocket,  and  he's  been  beg 
ging  like  a  stray  kitten  to  be  taken  home!  " 

Up.  and  up,  and  up!  The  Billowcrest  below 
grew  small,  then  smaller,  and  became  at  last  a  toy 
boat  tossed  into  a  snowdrift.  Nearer  and  nearer 
came  the  verge  of  the  barrier. 

"  Can't  you  see  over  it  yet?  "  called  the  voice  in 
the  phone.  "  It  looks  as  if  you  could." 

"Not  yet!  Soon,  though.  We're  half  crazy 
with  excitement! " 


ARRIVAL  AND  DEPARTURE.       189 

"  Tell  me  the  instant  you  can  see  over,  and  just 
what  you  can  see !  " 

'  Yes,   of  course !     In   another    second    now — 

There  was  a  sudden  movement  of  the  car. 
Looking  up  I  saw  that  the  balloon  bag,  now  lifting 
above  the  barrier,  had  been  caught  in  an  upper  cur 
rent  of  air  from  the  north,  and  was  being  carried  in 
ward,  to  the  wall.  In  another  instant  it  struck  the 
jagged  edge  of  the  precipice,  rebounded,  was 
caught  again  by  the  air  current  and  lifted,  and  with 
a  wild  sweep  went  plunging  over  the  barrier,  drag 
ging  us  almost  horizontally  behind! 

There  came  some  startled  cries  through  the  tele 
phone.  Then,  from  behind,  a  sudden  jerk  that 
nearly  flung  us  from  the  car.  We  had  reached  the 
end  of  our  rope,  so  to  speak,  and  had  been  pulled  up, 
short.  Too  short,  for  the  taut  line,  drawn  across 
the  sharp  edge  of  ice,  could  not  stand  the  strain. 
Well  for  us  that  it  did  not.  We  were  already  claw 
ing  tooth  and  nail  at  everything  in  sight,  and  our 
angle  was  becoming  momentarily  more  precipitous. 
The  car  swung  suddenly  downward  into  an  easier 
position,  and  then  once  more  a  white  world  dropped 
away  beneath.  We  did  not  need  to  guess  what  had 
happened.  We  knew.  The  line  had  parted,  and 
on  the  wings  of  a  thirty  mile  wind  we  were  bound 
for  the  South  Pole. 


XXII. 

ON  THE  AIR-LINE,  SOUTH. 

IT  is  needless  to  say  that  in  the  few  brief  seconds 
required  for  these  things  to  happen  I  did  not  con 
tinue  the  conversation  with  my  fiancee.  The  reader 
will  understand  that  I  was  busy — too  busy  even  to 
listen  to  the  advice  that  was  coming-  through  the 
telephone.  At  least  I  suppose  it  was  advice — Miss 
Gale  would  naturally  give  advice  on  an  occasion 
like  that,  and  besides  there  was  nothing  else  that 
she  could  have  given,  anyway.  But  as  the  instru 
ment  was  at  that  moment  swinging  over  the  side  of 
the  car.  and  would  have  been  lost  to  us  utterly,  had 
not  Ferratoni,  with  great  foresight,  nailed  it  securely 
at  the  other  end,  and  as  we  were  engaged  in  holding 
on  to  a  half-overturned  air-boat  with  everything 
made  by  nature  for  that  purpose,  the  connection 
was  poor,  and  the  advice,  or  sympathy,  or  whatever 
it  was,  wasted  on  the  snow-clad  fields. 

For  that  is  what  lay  below  us  as  far  as  we  could 
190 


ON  THE  AIR-LINE,  SOUTH.         191 

see.  The  snow,  the  endless  snow,  and  still  the 
snow.  From  our  far,  cold  height  it  seemed  a  level 
floor,  though  we  know  by  what  we  found  later  that 
it  must  have  been  heaved  and  drifted. 

We  were  very  high.  The  dropping  away  of  the 
greater  part  of  our  anchor  rope  had  sent  us  up  like 
a  rocket.  We  were  a  bit  confused,  at  first,  but 
presently  we  faced  each  other,  and  the  situation. 
We  were  bound  southward — that  much  was  certain 
— and  at  a  rapid  rate  of  speed.  Gale  was  first  to  ex 
press  himself. 

"  I've  boarded  a  train  going  twenty-five  mile  an 
hour,"  he  panted,  "  but  I  never  had  to  hold  on  with 
my  teeth  before.  I  haven't  had  so  much  fun  since 
I  had  the  measles." 

"  It  was  rather  interesting  for  a  second  or  two," 
I  assented. 

Mr.  Sturritt  was  examining  the  compartments 
where  his  tablets  were  stored. 

"  I  feared  we  might  have  spilled — that  is — been 
unfortunate  with  our  supplies,"  he  explained. 
"  They  are  all  right,  I  see." 

"  Oh,  they're  all  right,  Bill.  The  tablets  we  have 
always  with  us.  But  how  about  the  sandwiches? 
You  didn't  put  any  in  for  this  trip,  of  course!  " 

Mr.  Sturritt  looked  mildly  injured. 

"  Why,  yes,  I  obeyed — that  is — I  followed  in 
structions,  and  prepared  for  the  trial  ascension  pre- 


192         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

cisely  as  if  we  were  to  make  the  intended  voyage. 
In  order  that  the  weight  might — er " 

"  Do  you  mean,"  interrupted  Gale,  "  that  there 
are  sandwiches  in  there?  "  tapping  on  the  compart 
ment  reserved  for  that  purpose. 

"  Yes,  sir — or  were,  when  we  started." 

"  Bill,"  declared  Gale,  fervently,  "  if  we  ever  get 
out  of  this  snap,  I'll  set  you  up  in  a  business  big 
enough  to  supply  tablets  to  the  whole  civilized 
world  and  part  of  Long  Island." 

"  I  should  be  quite  satisfied  to  stay — that  is,  to 
remain — that  is,  if  we  ever  get  back  to  it,  on  the 
Billowcrest,"  said  Mr.  Sturritt  simply. 

Gale  turned  to  me. 

"  How  long  will  it  take  to  get  to  that  warm  coun 
try  of  yours,  Nick  ?  " 

"  If  we  keep  on  as  we're  going,  we  ought  to  be 
in  a  much  warmer  climate  by  night,"  I  said, 
"  and  night  won't  come  so  quickly,  either,  going  in 
this  direction.  The  continuous  day  is  just  begin 
ning  at  the  Pole,  you  know." 

Gale  leaned  back. 

"  All  right,"  he  said,  "  I'd  rather  go  to  the  end 
of  the  line  than  to  try  to  get  back  over  that  ice-wall. 
Give  us  a  through  ticket  and  throw  her  wide  open." 

Ferratoni  meantime  was  fishing  up  the  telephone, 
and  after  a  brief  examination  passed  it  with  gentle 
courtesy  over  to  me. 


ON  THE  AIR-LINE,  SOUTH.         193 

"  I  do  not  need  it,  you  know,"  he  said. 

I  took  it  eagerly,  though  I  did  not  quite  gather 
his  meaning.  The  little  bell  was  already  ringing 
violently.  1  called  hastily  into  the  transmitter : 

"  Hello !  hello !  down  there !  All  well  up  here. 
All  safe  and  bound  for  the  South  Pole." 

Edith  Gale's  voice  came  back  joyously. 

"Oh,  Nicholas!     Oh,  I  was  so  frightened!" 

"  Don't  worry  a  bit.  We're  a  little  ahead  of 
schedule  time,  but  we're  off  all  right,  and  have  got 
a  clear  track." 

There  was  a  brief  pause,  during  which  I  imag 
ined  Miss  Gale  might  be  collecting  herself  after  her 
excitement,  and  perhaps  communicating  the  news 
to  the  others.  Then  her  voice  came  again,  some 
what  more  calmly. 

"  Oh,  are  you  sure  you're  all  right,  and  how's 
Daddy?" 

"  Supplied  with  sandwiches,  and  at  peace  with  all 
mankind." 

My  tone  reassured  her. 

"  What  can  you  see  up  there?  "  she  asked  eagerly. 

"  Nothing,  so  far,  but  snow,  but  there  seem  to 
be  light  fleecy  clouds  to  the  south,  or  maybe  they're 
snow  hills.  If  clouds,  it  would  mean  a  warmer 
country,  I  think." 

"  How  high  up  are  you?  " 

"  Well,  perhaps  a  mile  or  so." 
13 


194         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

"Very  cold  up  there?" 

"  It's  getting  cold.  We  were  pretty  warm  at  first, 
from  exercise." 

"  Oh,  weren't  you  frightened?  " 

"  N — no,  I  don't  think  we  had  time." 

She  then  asked  me  about  Mr.  Sturritt  and  Ferra- 
toni,  but  before  I  could  answer  Ferratoni  said: 

"  You  may  tell  her  that  I  gain  happiness  with 
every  mile  that  passes." 

"Could  you  hear  her  question?"  I  asked,  sur 
prised. 

"  Mentally,  yes,"  he  answered.  "  Even  at  this 
distance  there  is  a  perfect  chording  of  the  thought, 
as  well  as  the  electrical  vibration." 

I  knew  then  what  he  had  meant  by  not  needing 
the  telephone. 

"  Look  here,  we're  going  down,"  declared  Gale, 
suddenly. 

I  peered  over  the  side  of  the  boat.  Certainly  the 
swift-flying  waste  below  seemed  to  be  coming 
nearer.  We  were  no  longer  miles  above  the  drifts. 
I  doubted  if  we  were  even  one  mile,  and  they  seemed 
to  be  rapidly  coming  nearer.  I  looked  at  Gale. 
What  could  it  mean? 

"  I'll  tell  you,"  he  said,  "  just  what's  the  matter. 
We  got  a  puncture  when  we  struck  the  edge  of  that 
ice-wall.  We're  leaking  gas,  and  we're  going  to  be 


ON  THE  AIR-LINE,  SOUTH.         195 

dumped  out,  pretty  soon,  right  here  in  the  middle 
of  nowhere." 

There  seemed  no  argument  against  this  conclu 
sion.  I  did  not  attempt  any.  The  thing  to  do  was 
to  act. 

"  We'll  have  to  throw  out  some  of  our  ballast, 
quick,"  I  said,  "  before  we  get  down  where  our 
drag-rope  can  touch.  That  would  pull  on  us  still 
more.  We  must  keep  going  as  long  as  we  can,  un 
less  you  want  to  try  to  get  back  to  the  ship." 

"  And  fall  off  that  two  thousand  foot  wall — 
not  much  !  "  said  Gale.  "  We're  going  on." 

Our  bags  of  zinc  filings  were  stored  in  a  com 
partment  at  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  under  our  furs 
and  sleeping  arrangements.  I  lifted  the  latter 
quickly  and  drew  out  some  of  the  ballast.  I  passed 
the  bags  to  Gale,  who  threw  them  over,  one  at  a 
time.  There  was  a  slight  upward  pull  as  each  went 
over,  but  still  the  white  surface  below  remained 
distressingly  near.  The  five  hundred  feet  that  still 
remained  of  our  anchor  rope  seemed  to  cover  more 
than  half  the  distance,  though  this  was,  of  course, 
deceptive.  We  continued  to  throw  out  our  bags  of 
filings  until  all  were  gone,  and  followed  them  with 
our  supply  of  acid,  which,  without  the  zinc,  would 
be  of  no  value.  Minus  the  means  of  making  gas, 
our  chances  of  return  were,  of  course,  much  less 
ened,  but  the  needs  of  the  moment  seemed  all  im- 


196         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

portant  and  imperative.  As  we  drew  near  the  fly 
ing  surface  our  speed  appeared  to  increase,  though 
in  reality  it  probably  slackened. 

Our  descent  now  became  less  rapid.  Perhaps 
because  the  pressure  of  the  gas  was  not  so  great, 
and  also  because  the  lower  air  was  more  buoyant. 
Still,  it  was  not  to  be  denied  that  we  were  draw 
ing  slowly,  surely,  nearer  to  the  white  plain  below. 
We  had  not  mentioned  our  predicament  to  those 
on  the  ship,  and  we  said  no  word  now  of  the  im 
pending  disaster.  We  simply  huddled  down  into 
our  fur  wrappings  and  waited,  often  looking  over 
the  side  to  note  our  progress,  both  southward  and 
downward. 

Finally,  just  after  noon,  it  became  evident  that 
our  anchor-rope  would  soon  touch,  and  this  would 
presently  drag  us  down. 

"How  much  does  that  rope  weigh?"  Gale 
asked,  looking  at  me. 

"  About  two  hundred  pounds,  perhaps.'' 

We  remained  looking  at  each  other,  and  though 
not  skilled  like  Ferratoni  in  such  matters,  I  could 
read  the  thought  in  his  mind.  The  rope,  as  I  have 
said,  was  attached  to  the  iron  ring  below.  I  would 
as  soon  have  jumped  over  at  once,  as  to  have  at 
tempted  to  climb  over  and  cut  it.  As  for  Gale,  he 
was  much  too  heavy,  and  not  constructed  for  such 
work.  But  we  knew  we  must  get  rid  of  that  rope. 


ON  THE  AIR-LINE,  SOUTH.         197 

"  Perhaps  I  can  shoot  it  off,"  suggested  Gale. 

He  drew  a  revolver  from  one  of  the  compart 
ments,  and  leaning  over,  fired  repeatedly  at  the 
slender  mark.  But  the  end  below  was  touching 
now,  and  this  made  it  unsteady.  He  gave  up  at 
last,  his  hands  numb  with  cold. 

"  Either  I  am  a  poor  shot,  or  the  bullets  won't 
cut  it,"  he  said. 

"  There  is  no  help  for  it,"  I  thought.  "  I  must 
make  the  attempt  and  die." 

"  No,"  said  Ferratoni,  "  I  will  go  over.  You 
can  put  a  rope  around  me." 

But  at  this  point  Mr.  Sturritt  ventured  to  inter 
fere. 

"  As  a  boy,"  he  said,  "  I  was  something  of  a 
circus — that  is — I  was  somewhat  given  to  gym 
nastics,  and  I  think  I  might  properly  undertake  this 
matter." 

"  Bill,"  said  Gale,  fervently,  "  you're  laying  up 
treasures." 

He  was  the  lightest  of  the  party.  We  put  a  small 
rope  securely  about  him,  and  made  loops  to  hold 
to  from  above.  The  elderly  man  laid  off  his  outer 
furs,  and  in  the  icy  air  stepped  nimbly  to  the  edge. 
Then,  knife  in  hand,  he  cautiously  descended.  He 
first  tried  holding  to  the  side  of  the  boat  with  one 
hand  and  reaching  for  the  rope  with  the  other.  But 
this  would  not  work,  so,  at  his  bidding,  we  lowered 


198        THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

him  a  few  feet  further.  He  gave  himself  a  push 
outward  as  he  descended.  As  he  swung  back  under 
the  boat  he  seized  the  rope  below,  and  with  a  few 
deft  cuts,  severed  it. 

There  was  a  sudden  upward  flight  that  prevented 
our  hauling  in  immediately.  Then  we  pulled 
straight  up,  and  Mr.  Sturritt's  hands,  and  pres 
ently  his  head,  appeared  over  the  side.  He  tumbled 
in  among  us  and  we  covered  him  with  furs.  We 
offered  him  brandy,  for  he  was  stiff  and  blue. 

"  N — no,"  he  shivered,  "  in  c — compartment 
four  you  will  find  a  brown  lozenge  especially 
adapted  to  such  occas — that  is — to  emergencies  of 
this  sort." 

I  hastily  procured  the  tablets,  and  he  swallowed 
two  of  them. 

'  Take  a  little  whisky  to  wash  'em  down,  Bill." 

But  Mr.  Sturritt  shook  his  head,  and  presently 
seemed  to  grow  quite  warm  among  the  furs.  Then, 
closing  his  eyes,  he  slept.  Gale  regarded  him 
fondly. 

"  Bully  old  Bill !  "  he  said.  "  I  never  knew  him 
to  be  afraid  in  my  life,  or  to  fail  when  it  came  to 
the  pinch ! " 


XXIII. 

THE  CLOUDCREST   MAKES  A  LANDING. 

WE  were  fully  half  a  mile  above  the  white  world 
now,  and  greatly  encouraged.  If  we  could  keep 
this  up  for  several  hours  I  believed  we  might  get 
beyond  the  snow  barrier,  or  at  least  to  a  point  where 
the  cold  was  less  intense.  Already  it  seemed  to  me 
that  the  air  was  less  keen.  We  felt  little  or 
no  wind  as  we  were  traveling  with  it,  and  while 
we  had  started  our  propeller  and  kept  it  going  stead 
ily  it  did  not  add  enough  to  our  speed  to  cause  any 
perceptible  current  of  air  from  ahead.  By  two 
o'clock  we  agreed  that  it  was  considerably  warmer 
than  when  we  had  started.  The  thermometer,  too, 
showed  a  difference  of  several  degrees,  though  this 
might  be  due  to  a  variety  of  causes.  At  the  ship, 
however,  Edith  reported  no  perceptible  change, 
all  of  which  added  to  our  encouragement.  Gale, 
meantime,  had  investigated  the  sandwiches,  and 
found  them  not  only  safe,  but  packed  to  prevent 

freezing.    We  each  took  two,  in  addition  to  an  al- 

199 


200         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

lowance  of  lozenges — all  except  Mr.  Sturritt,  who 
stood  by  his  guns,  or  rather  his  tablets,  and  fared 
on  this  food  only. 

But  by  three  o'clock  it  became  evident  that  we 
must  soon  reach  the  end  of  the  balloon  stage  of  our 
journey.  The  Cloudcrest  had  done  nobly  in  her 
crippled  condition,  but  she  was  settling  steadily 
now,  and  there  was  nothing  else  that  we  could  af 
ford  to  throw  away.  It  was  better,  we  said,  to 
face  the  disaster  of  landing  at  once  with  our  sup 
plies  than  to  throw  them  away  and  land  finally  with 
nothing.  We  believed  that  we  had  covered  no  less 
than  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  a  distance  which  I 
had  hoped  would  mark  the  limit  of  the  snow-line, 
but  in  this,  evidently,  I  had  been  mistaken.  It  was 
still  a  white  level  ahead,  over  which,  if  we  escaped 
destruction  in  making  our  landing  (and  this  seemed 
extremely  doubtful  at  the  rate  of  speed  we  were 
going),  we  would  now  be  obliged  to  proceed,  and 
much  more  slowly,  on  foot.  I  determined,  there 
fore,  to  stick  to  the  balloon  as  long  as  possible,  even 
at  the  cost  of  some  risk  and  discomfort. 

But  as  we  drew  near  the  surface  we  saw  that  what 
had  appeared  to  us  a  smooth  level  was  billowed  and 
drifted  like  the  sea.  We  braced  ourselves  for  the 
moment  when  we  should  strike.  The  chances  were 
that  we  would  be  flung  out  with  violence  or  dragged 
to  death  miserably. 


A  LANDING.  201 

Nearer  and  nearer  we  came,  rushing  down  on 
the  marble  whiteness  beneath. 

"  Do  you  know,"  said  Gale  suddenly,  "  it  seems 
co  me  we  are  going  down-hill." 

"  If  we  are,"  I  replied,  "  it  shows  that  the  crust 
is  getting  thinner,  and  proves  my  theory  of  a  warm 
country.  I  have  thought  it  for  some  time,  but  I 
would  not  mention  it  until  some  one  else — hi! — 
Look  out !  " 

There  was  a  sudden  shock,  and  a  blinding  smash 
of  snow  that  choked  and  stunned  us.  I  gasped  and 
coughed  to  get  my  breath.  When  I  opened  my 
eyes  I  saw  that  we  had  cut  through  the  peak  of  the 
high  drift  I  had  seen  coming  just  ahead,  and 
bounded  several  feet  into  the  air.  But  present!}/ 
we  settled  again,  and  there  was  another  jerk  and 
smash,  and  another  bound. 

"  We're  hitting  only  the  high  places,"  gasped 
Gale. 

"  We  won't  hit  many  more,"  I  gasped  back. 

We  did  hit  another  at  that  instant,  and  plowed 
through  still  another  immediately  afterward.  Then 
we  appeared  to  strike  a  comparatively  smooth  place, 
for  we  felt  the  rush  and  bump  of  the  snow  beneath 
almost  constantly,  though  the  spray  of  it  became 
a  blinding  volume  that  meant  suffocation  and  death. 

"Cut  the  ropes!"  shouted  Gale,  "and  let  her 
go!" 


202         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

He  was  seated  in  the  stern,  and  must  have  suited 
the  action  to  the  word,  for  I  felt  the  bow,  where  I 
was,  rise,  and  looking  back  saw  Gale  holding  on  for 
dear  life  to  keep  from  spilling  out  behind.  He  did 
not  look  contented,  and  evidently  had  changed  his 
mind  about  a  through  ticket.  Like  Uncle  Laxart, 
he  was  willing  to  wait  for  the  next  balloon,  or  to 
walk,  or  to  go  in  any  way  that  was  quieter.  Fer- 
ratoni  and  Sturritt  were  also  sawing  at  the  side 
ropes,  and  I  quickly  got  my  knife  ready  to  sever  the 
single  rope  at  the  bow  last.  Mr.  Sturritt  succeeded 
in  getting  the  ropes  on  his  side  cut  off  first,  and  for 
some  moments  our  boat,  or  rather  our  sled,  for  it 
was  that  now,  was  pitching  or  rolling  through  the 
drifts  on  side  or  bottom,  just  as  it  happened.  Then 
we  seemed  to  right,  and  I  guessed,  though  I  could 
not  see,  that  Ferratoni  had  in  some  manner  got  his 
ropes  cut  away.  Our  sled  was  being  pulled  now  by 
its  single  cord  up  hill  and  down  dale,  helter-skelter, 
lickety-split,  bounding,  leaping,  plunging,  and 
courting  destruction.  From  out  of  the  madness  of 
it  all  came  Gale's  voice. 

"Here  we  come!  Head  us,  somebody!  Dern 
our  fool  souls,  we're  runnin'  away !  "  And  a  second 
later,  "  Cut  her,  Nick,  cut  her !  I  can't  stick  on  any 
longer!" 

I  had  been  holding  the  edge  of  my  knife  to  the 
rope,  hesitating  to  cut,  for  the  reason  that  we  ap- 


;Cut  her,  Nirk.  cut  her  !     I  ran't  stick  on  any  longer  !  " — Page  202. 


A  LANDING.  203 

peared  to  have  slowed  down  somewhat,  and  were 
yet  making  such  excellent  time.  Now,  with  a  slash, 
we  were  free. 

There  was  a  sudden  halting,  a  plunge,  a  wild 
medley  of  legs  and  arms  and  ropes  and  Antarctic 
snow,  and  over  all  a  tightly  fitting  cover,  and  black 
ness. 

The  cover  was  the  overturned  boat.  The  black 
ness,  the  inside  of  it,  where  I  was.  I  was  half 
stunned  at  first,  however,  and  did  not  realize  just 
what  had  occurred.  Then  I  heard  Gale's  voice 
outside. 

"  Ring  up  the  curtain,  and  let's  see  what's  left." 

I  braced  my  back  against  whatever  was  above  me 
and  it  rose.  Then  the  light  came  under,  and  I  saw 
Gale.  Together  we  pushed  and  pulled  up  the  boat 
and  righted  it.  Under  the  boat  with  me  had  fallen 
both  Mr.  Sturritt  and  Ferratoni.  The  latter  was 
gasping  and  getting  his  wind.  The  former  was 
white  and  senseless,  but  opened  his  eyes  almost 
immediately,  and  sat  up.  Gale,  who  had  rolled  out 
behind  into  a  comfortable  drift,  was  quite  merry. 

"  Look  yonder,"  he  laughed. 

I  looked  to  the  south  and  upward,  as  he  pointed, 
and  saw  a  dark  spot  against  the  sky.  It  was  the  bag 
of  the  Cloudcrest. 

"  If  you  get  there  before  we  do,"  sang  Gale. 

"  Chauncey  Gale,"  I  said,  "  if  every  exploring 


204         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

party  had  a  man  like  you  along  there  would  be  no 
such  thing  as  failure." 

"  I  think  we'd  better  talk  a  little  to  Johnnie  if  the 
telephone's  working,"  he  said.  "  She  may  think 
we've  gone  to  sleep." 

We  found  the  apparatus  buried  in  the  snow,  but 
apparently  uninjured.  The  little  bell  on  it  rang  as 
soon  as  the  snow  was  poked  away. 

"  Hello,"  called  Gale,  "  that  you,  Johnnie?  Mat 
ter?  With  us?  Why,  nothing.  We've  been  busy, 
that's  all. — No,  not  quite  so  loud  as  it  was. — Yes. 
Bell  didn't  ring,  maybe. — Noise  you  heard?  Oh, 
slacking  down  the  propeller  I  guess.  Or  maybe 
Nick  singing.  We've  camped  for  the  night. — No. 
Nick  thought  it  best  now  we've  got  where  it's  warm. 
Didn't  know  what  we  might  get  into,  you  know. — 
Yes,  bully! — Yes,  had  to  let  out  some  gas.  We'll 
have  to  throw  out  ballast  of  course  in  the  morning. 
— Good  place?  Oh,  yes, — nice  and  clean. — No,  not 
too  warm. — No,  no  trees  yet. — Oh,  why — we — we 
hitched  it  to — that  is — we  tied  it  to — to  " — Gale 
slipped  his  hand  over  the  transmitter  and  turned  to 
me  helplessly.  "  Nick,  what  under  heavens  did  we 
hitch  the  balloon  to,  for  the  night  ?  Tell  me  quick !  " 

"  A — a  peculiar  petrified  formation,"  I  said 
hastily.  "  Might  have  been  a  tree,  at  one  time,  you 
know." 

"  Nick  says  it's  a  petrified  tree. — Yes.  only  a  few 


A  LANDING.  205 

of  'em  left.— No.  Tell  Biff  to  hold  the  fort.— Yes, 
we  must  camp,  now.  Good-by !  "  He  turned  to 
me  again.  "  Nick,"  he  said,  "  that  was  a  good  pet 
rified  lie  of  yours,  and  it  worked  in  bully.  No  use 
to  worry  the  little  girl,"  he  added,  "  she'll  think 
about  us  enough,  anyway." 

We  prepared  for  the  night.  There  was  still  a 
feeble  sun  in  the  west,  and  we  made  haste  to  get  into 
comfortable  quarters  before  it  left  us.  I  had  learned 
something  of  navigation  on  the  vessel,  and  securing 
an  angle  I  calculated  that  we  had  made  somewhat 
more  than  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  during  the 
five  hours  of  aerial  travel.  We  were  convinced 
now  that  the  snow  surface  sloped  to  the  southward. 
Our  horizon  showed  this  when  we  ascended  to  the 
top  of  the  highest  drifts,  and  the  temperature  also 
indicated  our  approach  to  a  warmer  zone.  That 
the  frozen  crust  was  getting  thinner  we  had  no 
doubt,  but  the  end  of  it  seemed  yet  far  distant,  and 
the  temperature  about  us  was  by  no  means  of  a  sort 
to  suggest  a  summer  wardrobe. 

The  mechanical  skill  of  Chauncey  Gale  now  be 
came  manifest.  Inverting  our  boat  once  more. 
there  appeared  folded  legs  which  when  pulled  down 
formed  short  uprights.  Also,  there  was  a  canvas 
that  dropped  around  these,  and  made  a  continuous 
wall,  with  a  flap  door  in  front.  On  the  snow  floor 
inside  we  spread  our  furs,  and  at  the  opening  there 


206         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

was  presently  a  little  electric  stove  going,  on  which 
Mr.  Sturritt  was  busily  melting  snow  and  prepar 
ing  tea.  This  with  some  sandwiches  and  a  gener 
ous  round  of  lozenges  formed  our  evening  meal. 
We  ate  it,  reclining  on  our  furs,  and  were  really 
quite  cozy  and  comfortable.  I  had  a  presentiment 
that  I  could  not  adopt  Mr.  Sturritt's  condensed 
food  as  a  continuous  diet.  It  would  have  been 
treason,  however,  to  say  so  at  this  stage.  Gale 
was  very  delicate  in  the  matter. 

"  What's  a  picnic  without  peanuts !  "  he  said,  as 
he  lit  a  cigar,  and  lay  back  in  the  darkness.  "  And, 
by  the  way,  Bill,  how  many  of  those  sandwiches 
have  we  got?  " 

"  Why,  I  think  plenty  for — er — to-morrow — that 
is — at  the  present  rate  of  consumption." 

"  Um — well,  maybe  we'd  better  begin  tapering 
to-morrow  then.  One  a  meal,  instead  of  two.  We 
don't  want  to  break  in  on  tablets  too  suddenly,  you 
know." 

We  crept  into  our  sleeping  bags — Gale  and  1 
together.  We  heard  the  clatter  of  fine  drifting 
snow  on  our  roof  and  canvas  wall.  We  were  not 
cold,  and  drowsiness  presently  came  stealing  over 
me — the  reaction  after  all  the  excitement  of  the  day. 

Then  out  of  the  darkness  came  the  face  of  Edith 
Gale.  We  were  far  apart  for  the  first  time  in  a 
year.  Long,  desolate,  frozen  miles  lay  between  us. 


A  LANDING.  207 

To-morrow  night  the  distance  would  be  still 
greater.  She  did  not  know  our  plight — of  that  I 
was  glad.  Yet,  in  the  end,  it  might  be  no  worse 
than  hers.  The  Billowcrest  might  never  escape 
from  her  ice-locked  harbor.  And  it  was  I  who  had 
brought  all  of  this  to  pass.  We  were  both  isolated 
in  this  great  frozen  world,  and  all  through  a  mad 
dream  of  my  boyhood.  I  had  an  inclination  to  toss 
on  my  pillow,  but  the  limits  of  the  sleeping-bag  did 
not  permit  this  luxury.  From  out  of  the  darkness 
at  the  other  end  of  the  boat  came  the  voice  of  Fer- 
ratoni. 

"  It  will  avail  nothing  to  disturb  yourself,"  he 
said  gently,  "  and  a  good-night  word  would  be 
comforting." 

I  had  forgotten  the  telephone.  I  reached  out  an 
arm  for  it  now,  and  touched  the  call  button. 
Almost  immediately  it  answered,  and  then  came 
Edith's  voice. 

"Hello!    Who  is  it?" 

"  It's  me — we're  just  going  to  sleep  and  want  to 
say  good  night." 

"  Are  you  really  warm  and  nice?  And  is  Daddy 
comfortable?  " 

"  Yes,  he's  asleep,  I  think." 

"  No,  he  isn't,"  said  Gale.  "  Give  me  that  phone 
a  minute." 

"  Hi,  Johnnie,  that  you  ? — Yes.     You  better  go, 


208         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

too. — Can't  sleep?  Why? — Oh,  pshaw!  we're  snug 
as  a  bug.  Go  on,  now.  Say  your  prayers  over 
twice,  and  get  Zar  to  sing  '  Brown  Cows  '  to  you ! 
Good  night!" 

He  handed  me  the  transmitter. 

"  Good  night,"  I  said. 

"  Good  night,  dear,"  she  called,  "  and  God  bless 
you!" 

A  sweet  peace  and  comfort  came  upon  me. 

"  Ferratoni,"  I  said,  "you  deserve  a  crown!" 
But  he  did  not  answer. 

Drowsiness  once  more  came  down  like  a  soft  cur 
tain.  Then  the  sleepy  voice  of  Gale: 

"Bill!" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  How  did  it  happen,  when  you  cut  the  rope  to 
day  and  the  balloon  shot  up,  that  your  weight  didn't 
jerk  us  all  out?  I  didn't  feel  any  jerk." 

"  No,  sir — I — I — had  grabbed — that  is — seized 
hold  quite  firmly  of  the  bit  of  rope  above,  sir." 

There  was  another  silence,  and  then  I  half-heard, 
mingled  with  a  dream  that  was  just  beginning,  the 
far-off  sleepy  voice  of  Gale,  whispering, 

"Bully  old  Bill!" 


XXIV. 

THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

SEPT.  21.  All  day  we  have  been  pushing  our  boat- 
sleigh,  and  to-night  we  are  between  fifteen  and 
twenty  miles  farther  south  than  last.  We  made 
fairly  good  progress  in  spite  of  the  drifts,  because 
of  the  general  down-slope,  which  in  some  places 
was  such  that  we  got  into  our  boat  and  the  wind 
carried  us  along.  Gale  and  Ferratoni  are  fixing  up 
a  sail  to  use  to-morrow.  It  will  be  rigged  between 
two  of  the  uprights,  forward.  The  wings  of  our 
propeller  were  smashed  in  the  fall.  We  are  all  very 
tired  to-night,  and  very  hungry,  for  our  light  ration 
of  sandwiches  does  not  go  far,  and  the  food 
lozenges  become  unpleasant  when  eaten  in  any 
quantity.  Mr.  Sturritt  explains  that  we  do  not 
quite  follow  instructions,  but  I  noticed  this  evening 
a  very  sad  look  on  his  face,  so  perhaps  he  is  experi 
encing  some  difficulty  with  them  himself,  as  a 
steady  diet,  for  he  still  persistently  declines  the 
sandwiches.  I  hope  we  shall  reach  somewhere  or 
something  to-morrow.  Otherwise  we  shall  be  in 

very  bad  straits  in  the  matter  of  food.     Fortunately 

209 


210         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

we  have  plenty  of  tea  and  coffee.  The  air  has 
grown  warmer,  and  a  soft  snow  is  falling.  It  is 
what  we  would  call  good  winter  weather  in  north 
ern  Nebraska. 

Sept.  22.  Another  day  of  pushing  and  sailing 
our  boat-sledge.  The  sail  is  a  success,  and  a  great 
help.  We  have  made  good  time,  but  there  is  no 
sign  of  dry  land  yet,  and  our  last  sandwiches  are 
gone.  To-morrow  it  will  be  tablets  or  nothing. 
We  have  not  confessed  it  to  each  other,  but  I  think 
it  will  be  nothing.  Even  Mr.  Sturritt  looks 
wretched  when  it  comes  mealtime.  He  steadily  re 
fuses  the  sandwiches,  however. 

It  is  clear  and  cold  to-night,  but  it  was  much 
warmer  through  the  day  than  yesterday.  We  are 
almost  too  warm,  in  fact,  when  we  are  pushing  the 
boat.  Gale  never  loses  heart.  He  keeps  up  the 
deception  with  Edith,  though  this  is  not  so  eas; 
as  it  would  seem.  He  told  her  to-day  that  we  were 
"  laying  up,"  because  of  adverse  winds.  Her  voice 
in  the  telephone  seems  weaker  than  it  was,  perhaps 
because  of  our  reaching  a  lower  level,  and  the  in 
creasing  distance.  Like  the  Marconi  system,  this 
may  require  that  one  end  of  the  circuit  should  be 
much  higher  than  the  other  in  order  to  get  the  best 
results.  Ferratoni  thinks  the  jar  of  our  fall  may 
have  affected  the  instrument,  too.  I  hope  and  pray 
that  it  will  not  fail  us  altogether,  for  the  voices  from 


THE  GREA  T  WHITE  WA  Y.         211 

the  ship  are  our  greatest  comfort.  Last  night,  just 
as  I  was  dozing  off  I  heard  my  name  called  gently. 

"Nicholas!" 

It  was  Edith's  voice,  and  close  to  my  ear.  I  an 
swered  softly,  for  the  others  were  already  sleeping. 
Then  she  said  : 

'  Nicholas,  Zar  is  going  to  sing  to  me,  don't  you 
want  to  hear,  too?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  should  love  to." 

There  came  a  mumble  of  protest  in  the  receiver. 
Evidently  Zar  did  not  altogether  approve  of  singing 
us  both  to  sleep  at  once,  even  though  so  many 
frozen  miles  lay  between.  Then  this  ceased,  and  a 
moment  later,  vibrating  across  the  wastes  in  a  rich. 
crooning  chant,  came  her  song  of  the  "  Old  Brown 
Cows."  * 


s  —  N- 


Dark  come  down  an*  dey  ain'  come  home —      Dark  come    down      an' 


-P IV 


-N — K 


dey  ain'  come  home— Park  come  down  an'  dey  ain' come  home — Ole  brown 


^ 


cows.  Ole  brown  cows— Strayin'  away  from  de  mastah's  gate,  Ole  brown  cows. 
Words  and  Music,  Copyright,  1901,  by  the  Author. 


2 1 2         THE  GREA  T  WHITE  WA  Y. 

"  Dark  come  down  an'  dey  ain'  come  home — 
Dark  come  down  an'  dey  ain'  come  home — 
Dark  come  down  an'  dey  ain'  come  home — 

Ole  brown  cows. 

Ole  brown  cows — 
Straying  away  from  de  mastah's  gate, 

Ole  brown  cows. 

"  Look  way  down  to  to  de  pastur'  lot — 
Call  way  down  th'ough  the  clovahfiel' — 
Hunt  way  down  by  de  cattle  pon' 

Fob  ole  brown  cows. 

Ole  brown  cows — 
Call  'em  home  to  de  mastah's  gate, 

Ole  brown  cows. 

"  What  dat  tinkle-in'  th'ough  de  wood? 
What  dat  browserin'  'long  de  haidge? 
What  dat  shuffle-in'  down  de  lane? 

Ole  brown  cows. 

Ole  brown  cows — 
All  come  home  to  de  mastah's  gate — 

Ole  brown  cows. ' ' 

Sept.  23.  The  wind  keeps  with  us,  and  when 
ever  we  find  a  decently  smooth  place  we  can  sail 
Otherwise,  we  should  make  little  progress,  for  we 
are  too  weak  from  weariness  and  lack  of  food  to 
do  much  at  pushing  the  boat.  We  kept  up  to-day 
on  coffee  and  tea.  We  can't  eat  any  more  tablets, 
and  Mr.  Sturritt,  who  forced  down  a  number  of 
them,  had  something  like  nervous  spasms  after 
wards.  To-night,  when  he  stopped  for  camp,  he 
sat  down  and  cried.  Gale  comforted  him. 


THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY.        213 

"Poor  Bill,"  he  said  "poor  old  Bill.  Don't 
break  down.  We'll  get  out  of  this  mess  some  way. 
We  always  have,  you  know." 

"  It  isn't  that,"  moaned  Sturritt,  "  I'm  not  afraid. 
It's  the  tab — that  is — the  lozenges.  They've  failed 
me.  I — I  can't  eat  'em,  myself!  " 

Sept.  24.  Strange  what  will  come  out  of  this 
white  desolation.  Last  night,  after  the  others  were 
asleep,  Ferratoni  and  I  talked  softly  of  evolution 
and  immortality.  He  believes  in  transmigration, 
and  that  the  horse  is  the  next  step  before  man.  I 
was  barely  awake  at  last,  and  closed  my  eyes  to  a 
vision  of  four  jaded  horses  that  were  dragging  a 
heavy  boat  across  the  sun-bright  snow. 

Sept.  25.  This  morning  a  white  bird — the  first 
life  we  have  seen — lighted  near  our  camp,  and  Gale 
shot  it  with  his  revolver.  It  was  a  fine  shot,  for  the 
bird  was  not  large — barely  a  good  bite  apiece.  It  re 
vived  us  more  than  would  seem  possible,  and  en 
couraged  us  in  the  belief  that  we  are  nearing  bare 
ground.  We  pushed  on  to  the  south,  though  very 
slowly.  We  have  made  no  more  than  twenty  miles 
in  the  past  three  days.  Other  birds  passed,  but 
neither  Gale  nor  the  rest  of  us  could  hit  them.  We 
were  soon  wretchedly  hungry  again,  and  desperate. 

About  noon  Gale  was  taken  quite  unexpectedly 
with  a  religious  turn,  and  offered  a  prayer.  It 


214        THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

seemed  fervent  enough,  but  on  the  whole  I  did  not 
think  much  of  it.  He  said: 

"  Oh,  Lord,  we  seem  to  have  run  the  lines  of  this 
addition  wrong.  We've  made  a  poor  survey  and 
we  can't  find  any  corner-stones.  There's  no  use 
trying  to  get  back  to  the  ship,  and  we  don't  seem  to 
be  able  to  get  anywhere  else.  We're  hungry,  Lord, 
too,  and  we  can't  eat  any  more  of  Bill's  tablets.  He 
can't  eat  'em  himself.  I've  tried  to  shoot  birds,  but 
I  only  hit  one,  and  I  think  that  was  an  accident. 
I've  shot  and  shot  and  used  up  about  all  my  am 
munition.  I  can't  hit  a  thing.  Lord,  and  the  other 
boys  shoot  worse  than  I  do.  It's  your  turn  now, 
Lord.  Amen. 

It  may  be  that  this  prayer  did  some  good,  for  in 
the  afternoon  a  whole  flock  of  birds  lit  near  us,  and 
Gale  threw  his  revolver  among  them,  killing  two. 
We  feel  sure  these  birds  indicate  bare  earth  not  far 
away.  But  we  must  reach  it  soon.  Gale  is,  as 
ever,  full  of  cheer.  Ferratoni  does  not  seem  to 
flag,  while  I  am  buoyed  up  by  hope,  and  still  have, 
though  it  comes  each  day  more  faintly,  the  voice  of 
the  woman  I  love,  to  give  me  strength  and  courage. 
But  poor  old  Sturritt,  who  is  heart-broken  over  the 
failure  of  his  food  lozenge,  won't  last  long  as  things 
are.  I  gave  him  my  part  of  the  last  birds  to-day. 
I  divided  them,  so  he  didn't  know  the  difference. 


XXV. 

WHERE  THE  WAY  ENDS. 

BUT  now  came  a  great  day. 

It  began  with  a  discovery.  My  pockets  had  been 
full  of  lozenges  which  I  could  not  eat,  and  I  had 
emptied  them  out  on  the  snow.  It  seems,  however, 
that  I  had  left  two  in  my  coat  pocket —  a  white 
one  and  a  brown  one.  I  had  such  a  gnawing 
hunger  after  we  started  that  when  I  felt  these  there, 
I  put  them  both  in  my  mouth  together,  thinking  to 
hold  them  a  moment  and  then  take  them  out  before 
they  sickened  me. 

But,  strangely  enough,  they  did  not  do  so.  As 
they  dissolved  T  swallowed  them,  and  when  they 
were  gone  I  felt  strengthened.  Then  I  asked  Mr. 
Sturritt  if  he  had  ever  tried  this  particular  combi 
nation.  He  shook  his  head  sadly  and  said  no,  but 
that  it  was  no  use.  I  then  told  him  what  I  had 
done,  and  he  made  the  experiment.  Presently  we 
were  all  consuming  brown  and  white  lozenges,  and 
satisfying  what  the  advertisements  refer  to  as  a 
215 


2i6         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

"  long-felt  want."  Mr  Sturritt  was  almost  mad 
with  delight.  He  grew  ten  years  younger  in  as 
many  minutes,  and  capered  about  in  the  snow  until 
he  caught  his  foot  in  one  of  the  runners 
and  fell  head-first  into  a  drift.  Then  we  all 
laughed,  and  got  hold  of  the  boat  and  sent  it  ahead 
faster  than  it  had  gone  since  we  landed.  The  brown 
was  the  medicated  lozenge,  intended  for  extreme 
cold  and  exhaustion.  Combined  with  the  white 
soup  lozenge,  it  formed  an  acceptable  nourishment, 
and  we  had  an  ample  store  of  both  colors. 

The  next  event  of  the  day  came  about  eleven 
o'clock.  Gale,  who  was  looking  ahead,  stopped 
suddenly. 

"  Hey !     Black  snow  on  the  port  bow !  "  he  called. 

We  all  looked  where  he  pointed.  Then  I  gave  a 
whoop. 

"  Not  snow!  "  I  cried,  "  but  land!  " 

We  ran  forward  like  boys.  No,  it  was  not  land, 
after  all,  but  the  next  thing  to  it — a  great  black  ex 
panse  of  bare,  wind-swept  rock !  We  could  not  tell, 
of  course,  how  high  it  rose  above  the  normal  sur 
face,  but  we  did  not  believe  it  could  be  many  feet. 
Looking  ahead  with  the  glass  we  saw  many  other 
black  patches,  stretching  away  and  blending  to 
gether,  as  it  seemed,  on  the  horizon.  We  made  all 
haste  forward,  and  when  we  stopped  for  our  noon 
rest  I  made  a  calculation  of  our  position.  We  were 


WHERE  THE  WA  Y  ENDS.         2 1 7 

not  quite  to  the  eighty-third  parallel,  and  a  little 
more  than  two  hundred  miles  from  the  Billowcrest. 
I  had  calculated  that  the  habitable  zone  would  be 
gin  here,  but  it  appeared  that  I  had  been  in  error. 
The  cold  from  the  sea  reached  farther  inland  than  ! 
had  supposed.  Still,  I  reflected,  this  place  might  be 
altogether  clear  of  snow  a  month  later,  and  only  un 
inhabitable  because  of  barrenness. 

Immediately  after  our  coffee  we  pushed  on  again. 
All  at  once  I  made  out  what  seemed  to  be  the  open 
ing,  or  chasm,  among  the  bare  patches  to  the  right. 
Leaving  the  others,  I  ran  over  to  investigate  and 
came  back  shouting  and  breathless. 

"A  river!  a  river!"  I  called,  "and  smooth  ice. 
We  can  sail  on  it!  " 

We  steered  our  boat-sled  over  there  as  rapidly  as 
possible.  It  was  difficult  getting  down  to  the  sur 
face,  some  forty  feet  below,  but  we  managed  it  at 
last.  Then  we  stopped  for  breath  and  observa 
tion. 

"  I'll  bet  this  is  our  river,"  said  Gale,  "  and  that 
we  haven't  been  more  than  a  mile  from  it  since  we 
started." 

"  No  doubt  of  it,"  I  said,  "  and  we  even  may  have 
been  on  top  of  it  part  of  the  time.  Of  course  it's 
filled  level  full  of  snow  somewhere  below  here,  and 
we  shouldn't  have  known  the  difference.  It  is  a 
channel  that  cuts  through  and  carries  the  melting 


2 1 8         THE  GREA  T  WHITE  WA  Y. 

snow  to  the  sea.  If  it  didn't  the  center  of  the  Ant 
arctic  Continent  would  be  a  big  circular  pond. 
There  may  be  many  of  these  rivers." 

"  Well,  one  is  enough  for  us,  just  now,"  said 
Gale.  Then  he  promptly  confessed  to  Edith  that 
we  had  "  abandoned  "  our  balloon  bag,  owing  to 
"  adverse  winds,"  but  that  we  didn't  care,  for  we 
had  reached  a  river  and  "  good  sailing."  She 
didn't  appear  to  notice  any  discrepancy  in  this  state 
ment,  and  we  decided  that  it  would  be  unsafe  to  at 
tempt  to  mend  it.  The  "  good  sailing,"  at  least, 
was  true,  for  the  wind  continued  favorable,  and  we 
were  presently  going  up-stream  at  a  fair  rate  of 
speed.  Gale  leaned  back  and  lit  a  cigar. 

"  This  beats  pushing,"  he  said.  "  Good  boat, 
good  crowd,  good  cigar.  What  is  joy  without  a 
jews-harp! " 

By  nightfall — it  fell  much  later  now — the  snow 
banks  on  either  side  were  no  more  than  ten  feet  high 
on  a  level,  and  when  we  stopped  for  camp  we  found 
the  country  above  almost  more  black  than  white — 
the  bare  rocks  showing  in  masses  in  all  directions. 

We  rejoiced  greatly,  and  fondly  hoped  to  be  out 
of  the  snow  altogether  by  the  following  evening, 
though  I  was  a  bit  uneasy  about  the  rock.  If  the 
Antarctic  Continent  proved  to  be  nothing  but  bar 
ren  granite  it  would  be  of  as  little  value  as  if  it  were 
a  waste  of  snow.  Still,  a  circle  of  nearly  a  thou- 


WHERE  THE  WA  Y  ENDS.         2 19 

sand  miles  in  diameter  could  hardly  be  the  same 
throughout. 

Our  failing  telephone,  however,  was  a  real  sor 
row.  Though  still  distinct,  the  voices  were  very 
faint,  now.  Unless  Ferratoni  could  do  something,  it 
would  fail  us  altogether,  soon.  He  believed  its  con 
dition  due  mainly  to  our  lower  altitude,  and  the  vast 
obstruction  that  was  now  lying  between  us  and  the 
Billowcrest.  But  it  had  been  a  great  comfort  to  us 
all  through  our  hardest  hours,  and  I  would  be  con 
tent.  The  mental  vibrations  from  the  vessel,  Fer 
ratoni  said,  were  similarly  affected,  and  much  con 
fused. 

Another  day  of  discovery  followed.  The  wind 
and  weather  being  too  good  to  waste,  by  five 
o'clock  we  were  on  our  way  up  the  river.  The 
snow  crust  thinned  out  rapidly,  until,  by  ten  o'clock, 
there  was  no  more  than  a  foot  on  the  banks  above, 
and  we  were  sailing-  between  shores  of  genuine 
stone  and  clay,  the  first  soil  we  had  seen  for  a  year. 
Flocks  of  birds  became  plentiful,  and  at  one  place 
we  saw  some  strange,  brown  animals,  about  the  size 
and  shape  of  rabbits,  but  with  very  long  hind  legs 
and  with  a  method  of  locomotion  similar  to  that  of 
a  frog.  Gale  named  them  "  Skipteroons  "  because 
of  their  lightsome  mode  of  travel,  and  shot  at  them, 
without  success. 

The  temperature  was  barely  freezing,  now,  and 


220         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

we  were  altogether  happy.  So  much  so  that  we 
confessed  to  Edith  all  the  affair  of  the  balloon,  and 
our  subsequent  difficulties.  She  was  less  surprised 
than  we  had  expected.  She  had  suspected,  it 
seems,  that  all  was  not  so  well  as  we  had  pre 
tended,  and  of  course  our  statements  had  been  a 
trifle  contradictory  at  times.  But  she  rejoiced  now 
in  the  reality  of  good  fortune  that  had  come  to  us, 
the  genuineness  of  which  could  not  be  mistaken, 
even  through  our  fast  failing  telephone. 

Several  times  we  halted  and  climbed  up  on  the 
shore  to  look  at  the  country  for  possible  inhabitants, 
but  there  was  as  yet  no  human  sign,  though  much 
bird  life,  and  some  more  of  the  funny  half-rabbit 
creatures,  one  of  which  Gale  succeeded  in  killing  at 
last,  a  welcome  addition  to  our  bill-of-fare. 
All  at  once,  about  four  o'clock,  Ferratoni  held  out 
his  hand.  "Listen !  "  he  said. 

We  listened  very  hard,  and  thought  we  heard  a 
roaring  sound  ahead,  but  as  the  wind  was  blowing 
in  that  direction,  we  could  not  be  sure.  It  grew 
stronger,  however,  as  we  ascended,  and  was  steady 
and  continuous.  We  decided  that  it  was  a  fall,  and 
not  far  away.  Hardly  had  we  made  this  conclusion 
when  there  was  a  cracking  sound  beneath  us,  fol 
lowed  by  a  crash  of  ice  and  a  splash  of  water,  and 
our  boat-sleigh  was  no  longer  a  sleigh  at  all,  but  a 
genuine  boat,  battling  with  a  strong  current  and 


WHERE  THE  WAY  ENDS.          221 

broken  ice.  Our  momentum  had  sent  us  ahead  a 
few  feet,  but  our  sail  was  too  small  to  stem  the  cur 
rent  and  we  were  drifting  back  to  the  jagged  ice. 
This  time  it  was  Ferratoni  who  saved  the  situation. 
He  had  foreseen  just  such  an  emergency  and  had 
at  hand  the  little  propeller  wheel  for  water.  With 
a  quick  movement,  now,  he  plunged  it  beneath  the 
surface  at  the  stern,  and  deftly  slipping  and  locking 
it  into  place,  pressed  the  button  of  the  dynamo. 
We  were  off,  like  a  trolley  car.  The  thin  ice  ahead 
parted  before  our  sharp  bow,  and  in  a  few  moments 
we  were  in  open  water,  heading  up-stream  under 
both  electricity  and  sail. 

"  Like  gettin'  money  from  home,"  said  Gale. 
"  Look  here,  Nick,  where  would  your  boat  scheme 
have  been,  anyway,  without  Tony  and  me  to  help 
you  out? " 

Certainly  the  propeller  was  a  success,  and  I  ap 
proved  it  heartily. 

We  rounded  a  bend  a  little  later,  and  the  fall 
came  in  sight.  It  was  perhaps  a  mile  away  and  was 
a  long  rapid,  rather  than  a  fall.  There  was  no 
thought  of  ascending  it  with  the  boat.  Already 
the  current  was  very  swift,  and  the  shores  narrow 
ing  together.  We  headed  in  for  the  bank.  Land 
ing  proved  a  hard  job,  for  the  bank  here  was  rather 
high,  and  very  steep.  We  had  to  unload  most  of 
our  things  and  carry  them  up  in  our  arms.  By 


2  2  2         THE  GREA  T  WHITE  WA  Y. 

the  time  we  got  everything  up  we  were  too  tired 
to  attempt  to  climb  the  long  hill  which  we  now  saw 
rose  ahead  of  us.  It  was  this  rise  that  formed  the 
rapid,  and  against  it  the  snow  had  blown  and 
drifted,  though  this  was  all  the  better  for  us,  as  it 
made  the  ascent  easier  for  the  boat,  which  would 
have  been  hard  to  push  up  over  rough,  bare  rocks. 
To-morrow  morning  \vc  wrould  know  what  lay  be 
yond  that  hill.  To-night  we  were  resting,  and  get 
ting  strength  from  the  "  skipteroon  "  for  a  long  tug. 
Zar  had  promised  to  sing  "  Brown  Cows  "  to  me. 
and  perhaps  for  the  last  time,  for  Edith  Gale's  voice 
when  I  had  called  to  her  just  now  was  barely  audi 
ble,  even  though  she  must  have  spoken  very  loudly. 
I  was  obliged  to  shout  to  make  her  hear,  which 
made  any  expression  of  tenderness  between  us 
somewhat  difficult.  Zar's  voice,  however,  would 
probably  carry. 


XXVI. 

THE  WELCOME  TO  THE  UNKNOWN. 

AND  now  came  the  day  of  days!  Early  in  the 
morning  we  reloaded  our  boat,  and  set  out  eager 
ly.  The  wind  helped  us  somewhat  in  our  upward 
pull  but  it  was  a  hard  tug.  Often  we  propped  our 
load,  and  halted  for  breath.  The  hill  seemed  to 
grow  longer  as  we  ascended. 

"  Nick,"  said  Gale,  "  I  believe  this  is  the  South 
Pole,  and  that  we're  climbing  it." 

"  It  isn't  quite  that,"  I  said,  "  but  it  may  be  the 
end  of  the  bare  rocks  and  snow.  I  shouldn't  won 
der  if  all  this  bare  rock  has  had  the  dirt  washed  off 
by  the  million  years  or  so  of  melting  drifts.  We've 
already  seen  dirt  along  the  river  bank,  and  there 
should  be  more  of  it  where  the  snow  ends.  If  this 
is  the  place,  it  explains  this  rise." 

We  tugged  on  and  up.  When  at  last  we  were 
within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  summit,  our  eagerness 
made  us  silent.  We  halted  once  more  before  the 
final  effort. 

"  Nick,"  panted  Gale,  "  it's  the  Promised  Land. 
You're  entitled  to  the  first  look.  Go  on  ahead,  and 

come  back  and  tell  us." 

223 


224         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

"  No,"  I  said,  "  we'll  leave  the  boat  here,  and  go 
up  four  abreast,  to  look  over." 

"  Anyhow,  you'll  see  it  first,  that  way,"  said  Gale, 
"  and  Bill  next." 

Side  by  side  we  hurried  forward.  Just  at  the 
brow,  the  hill  was  a  bit  steeper,  and  there  was  a 
surface  of  bare  rock,  over  which  we  scrambled,  and 
a  moment  later  stood  on  the  summit.  Then 

Before  us — level  upland  with  here  and  there  a 
patch  of  white,  where  snow  still  lingered.  But  be 
tween  and  beyond  the  white,  beginning  at  our  feet, 
and  stretching  away  to  the  farthest  horizon  limits, 
a  thick,  yielding  carpet  of  wonderful  Purple  Vio 
lets! 

Mr.  Sturritt  was  first  to  speak. 

"  The  Lord  be  praised  for  all  His  mercies !  "  he 
said. 

Ferratoni  was  down  with  his  face  among  the 
leaves  and  blossoms. 

Gale  said :  "  I've  been  to  violet  receptions  before, 
but  this  rather  lays  it  over  anything,  so  far." 

As  for  me,  I  was  silent.  I  hardly  knew  what  I 
had  expected  to  see.  Perhaps  trees — perhaps  a  dis 
tant  city — perhaps  a  waste  of  barren  downs.  But 
certainly  not  this.  I  knew,  of  course,  that  flowers 
bloomed  at  the  very  edge  of  Alaskan  glaciers,  but 
perhaps  I  had  forgotten.  Like  Ferratoni,  I  got 
down  to  feel  and  smell  them.  They  had  a  sweet, 


WELCOME  TO  THE  UNKNOWN.     225 

delicate  odor,  that  had  been  borne  from  us  by  the 
wind.  The  blossom  itself  was  somewhat  different 
in  form  from  our  northern  violets,  and  was  of  a 
darker  hue.  The  leaf  was  smaller. 

Through  a  sea  of  bloom  we  pushed  our  boat 
toward  the  river  above  the  rapids.  The  banks  were 
lower,  here,  and  there  was  no  more  ice.  We  were 
presently  sailing  between  violet-scented  shores,  and 
the  silence  and  balm  that  was  in  the  air  brought 
forgetfulness  of  our  difficulties.  To  the  ship  we  at 
tempted  to  convey  the  great  news,  but  now  our 
telephone  failed  us  almost  entirely,  and  in  spite  of 
all  that  Ferratoni  could  do  to  it,  it  was  with  the 
greatest  difficulty  that  we  finally  conveyed  the 
bare  facts,  sacrificing  altogether  the  poetic  details 
of  the  scene  about  us. 

My  first  attempt  to  explain  to  Edith  that  we  were 
met  with  violets  was  understood  by  her  to  be  "  vio 
lence,"  and  this  was  not  easy  to  get  rid  of.  How 
ever,  she  comprehended  at  last,  and  had  she  been 
standing  on  top  of  the  ice-barrier,  I  think  she  could 
have  heard  me,  without  the  telephone.  As  for  her 
voice,  it  was  lost  utterly  in  the  wide  space  between, 
and  only  the  searching  quality  of  Captain  Biffer's 
tones  could  convey  to  us  her  replies.  Even  these 
were  lost  when  we  tried  again,  a  little  later.  Being 
thus  cut  off  from  the  ship  saddened  us,  in  spite  of 
our  pleasant  surroundings. 
'5 


226         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

"  We'll  have  to  go  it  alone,"  commented  Gale, 
"  Mebbe  we'll  hit  another  set  of  vibrations  up  here, 
somewhere,  and  be  all  right  again.  We're  likely 
to  strike  most  anything  now.  Anyway  Johnnie 
knows  we  were  doing  well  at  last  accounts.  Do 
you  know,"  he  added,  some  minutes  later,  "  this 
would  be  a  great  place  to  lay  out  an  addition.  Vio 
let  Mead — how's  that  for  a  name?  Acre  property, 
no  grading,  and  if  there  was  any  way  of  getting 
over  that  ice-wall,  it  would  be  the  easiest  thing  in 
the  world  to  run  a  gravity  railroad  down  the  snow 
bank  from  Bottle  Bay  right  to  this  meadow. 
There's  a  steady  incline  and  the  drifts  would  be  easy 
to  cut  through." 

"  How  about  the  melting  underneath  in  the  sum 
mer,  and  the  drifting  overhead  in  the  winter?"  I 
asked.  "  I  think  a  line  of  balloons  would  be  more 
practical." 

Gale  shook  his  head. 

"  No  more  balloons  in  mine.  The  going  is  well 
enough,  but  it's  the  free  and  easy  way  you  have  of 
starting  and  stopping  that  I  object  to." 

Gradually  the  sun  slipped  down  behind  the  vio 
let  fields.  The  wind  died,  and  a  scented,  luminous 
twilight  fell.  The  atmosphere  was  like  an  even 
ing  in  late  April.  We  were  preparing  to  land  for 
the  night,  when  a  dark  speck  appeared  on  the  river 
ahead.  The  surface  of  the  water  was  a  dull  red 


WELCOME  TO  THE  UNKNOWN.     227 

gold,  reflecting  the  western  sky.  Into  this  there 
had  drifted  a  sharp,  black  outline — a  boat,  we  saw 
presently — a  sort  of  canoe.  It  was  the  first  indica 
tion  of  human  life,  and  we  held  our  breath,  won 
dering.  As  it  approached,  it  appeared  empty. 

We  turned  our  craft  toward  it,  and  it  drifted  just 
under  our  side.  We  leaned  over  and  looked  down. 
A  face  looked  up  into  ours — the  white,  dead  face  of 
a  beautiful  young  girl,  and  above  and  about  her 
there  were  masses  and  festoons  of  flowers. 

We  held  the  boat  a  little,  and  regarded  the  sleep 
er  without  speaking.  She  was  so  beautiful,  and 
had  come  to  us  so  silently  out  of  the  unknown  land. 

Twilight  deepened. 

Then  presently  we  loosed  the  little  funeral  boat, 
and  saw  it  pass  down  into  the  dimness  of  evening 
to  the  land  of  eternal  cold. 

"  It  was  a  part  of  just  such  a  boat  that  we  found 
in  Bottle  Bay,"  Gale  said,  as  we  drew  near  the 
shore.  :'  This  accounts  for  its  being  there." 

I  assented,  but  we  did  not  discuss  the  matter 
further,  and  we  spoke  but  little  as  we  prepared  for 
the  night.  Communication  with  those  behind  had 
ceased.  Before  us  was  mystery,  and  about  us  si 
lence.  Cut  off  from  every  tie  we  knew,  we  had 
entered  an  enchanted  land,  and  the  spell  of  its  po 
tent  magic  came  down  with  the  perfumed  dark. 


XXVII. 

THE   PRINCE  OF   THE   PURPLE   FIELDS. 

I  WOKE  next  morning  to  an  odor  even  more  in 
spiring  than  the  smell  of  violets.  There  was  that 
about  it  which  at  first  made  me  distrust  my  senses. 
It  seemed  too  good  to  be  true — that  searching, 
pervading,  heavenly  odor.  I  closed  my  eyes  and 
opened  them  to  make  sure  I  was  awake.  Then  it 
came  again — more  persistent  than  before — and  with 
it  a  sputter  and  a  crackle.  It  was!  It  was!  I 
could  not  be  deceived — it  was  frying  fish ! 

Gale,  it  seems,  had  risen  early,  upturned  some  in 
sects  and  worms  from  under  the  violet  sod,  and 
found  splendid  fishing  but  a  step  away.  Mr.  Stur- 
ritt  had  promptly  joined  him,  and  now  there  was 
ready  a  breakfast  that  made  up  for  many  days  of 
fasting  and  tablets. 

"  I  don't  know  what  kind  of  fish  they  are,"  ex 
plained  Gale.  "  but  they  seemed  as  hungry  as  we 
were,  so  we  formed  a  sort  of  mutual  benefit  asso 
ciation.  Sort  of  a  first  aid  to  the  famished." 

The  morning  was  still  and  beautiful.     We  had 

rested  on  violet    beds,    and    after    our    bounteous 
228 


PRINCE  OF  THE  PURPLE  FIELDS.    229 

breakfast  we  set  out  southward  again,  in  the  joy 
ous  expectation  of  further  discovery.  We  were  in 
excellent  spirits;  the  air  was  balm  and  the  dangers 
of  cold  and  hunger  were  behind  us.  It  is  true  that 
the  Billowcrest  was  also  there,  and  between,  a  wide 
desolation  which  we  could  hardly  hope  to  surmount 
with  our  present  resources.  But  this  fact  we  kept 
in  the  background.  It  was  not  an  immediate  con 
cern,  and  we  were  willing  to  believe  that  to-mor 
row,  and  the  day  after,  and  the  month  following 
would  in  some  manner  provide  ways  and  develop 
means. 

Chauncey  Gale  became  particularly  jubilant  as  we 
ascended. 

"  If  all  the  people  are  like  that  girl  we  saw  last 
night,"  he  said  at  last, — "  I  don't  mean  of  course  if 
they  are  all  dead,  but  if  they  all  look  like  that, — it 
seems  to  me  that  this  is  about  the  best  addition  the 
Lord  has  yet  laid  out.  Maybe  this  is  His  own  little 
pet  corner  down  here,  and  He  didn't  think  anybody 
else  would  find  it.  You  know  I  felt  a  good  deal 
that  way  when  I  laid  out  Tangleside.  It  was  a  lit 
tle  shut-in  neck  of  woods,  and  some  of  Johnnie's 
friends  liked  it,  so  we  just  bought  it  and  let  'em 
have  it.  I  didn't  suppose  anybody  else  would  ever 
think  of  wanting  to  live  there,  but  they  did.  Peo 
ple  found  out  that  we  didn't  want  them,  and  you 
couldn't  keep  them  away  with  clubs.  They  over- 


230         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

run  the  place  and  ruined  it.  Johnnie  couldn't 
do  a  thing  with  them.  They  cut  out  the  trees  and 
bushes  that  grew  there,  and  set  out  a  lot  of  nursery 
stuff  that  broke  Johnnie's  heart  in  six  months.  If 
this  place  should  turn  out  to  be  a  sort  of  Tangle- 
side  of  the  Lord's,  I  suppose  He'd  like  it  just  as  well 
if  we  kept  out.  But  if  the  people  are  all  like  that 
girl- 

"  You  shall  know  presently,"  interrupted  Ferra- 
toni.  "  They  are  just  ahead." 

He  had  scarcely  spoken  before  during  the  morn 
ing,  and  there  was  now  a  quality  in  his  voice  that 
made  us  all  look  first  at  him,  and  then  in  the  direc 
tion  his  eyes  followed.  We  thought  he  might  have 
received  some  mental  impression,  but  saw  now  that 
just  beyond  a  little  knoll  on  the  shore,  and  coming 
down  to  the  marge  to  meet  us,  were  the  figures  of 
men.  It  did  not  surprise  us;  we  had  expected  them 
even  sooner.  During  our  approach  they  regarded 
us,  as  we  them,  in  silence. 

They  were  very  fair — almost  pallid  of  counte 
nance — graceful  rather  than  robust.  Their  dress 
was  quite  simple  in  form.  Something  akin  to  both 
the  early  Syrian  and  Japanese  it  seemed,  and  ap 
peared  to  have  grown  for  them,  rather  than  to  have 
been  constructed  by  artificial  devices.  Their  faces 
were  smooth,  and  their  hair  long — parted  on  top 
and  gathered  loosely  at  the  back  with  a  sort  of  cir- 


PRINCE  OF  THE  PURPLE  FIELDS.  231 

clet  or  band.  To  me  they  seemed  as  a  part  with 
the  fields  and  sky  behind  them — some  new  flowering 
of  our  enchanted  land. 

All  were  young,  but  one  younger  and  handsomer 
than  the  others  advanced  as  our  boat  grounded. 
His  wide-sleeved  coat,  or  tunic,  of  soft  glistening 
white  was  embroidered  over  with  the  flower  of  the 
plains  above  us.  That  he  was  of  rank  seemed  evi 
dent.  Gale,  who  was  in  the  bow,  stepped  ashore 
and  held  out  his  hand  to  this  fair  youth,  who  laid 
his  own  in  it,  unhesitatingly. 

"  How  are  you  ?  "  greeted  Gale,  heartily.  "  Glad 
to  see  you.  We've  had  all  kinds  of  a  time  getting 
here,  and  it's  good  to  find  somebody  at  home.  My 
name  is  Gale.  Chauncey  Gale,  and  these  are  my 
friends.  We're  from  New  York  City,  United 
States  of  America — best  town  and  biggest  country 
on  earth.  We've  come  down  here  to  discover  you, 
and  take  a  look  at  your  country  to  see  whether  we 
want  to  annex  it  or  not.  Up  till  yesterday  we 
didn't  think  we  did,  but  the  farther  we  get  into  your 
proposition  the  better  we  like  it.  Now,  tell  us 
who  you  are." 

During  this  rather  characteristic  greeting  the 
youth  had  been  regarding  Gale  with  puzzled  in 
quiry.  He  answered  now  with  a  gentle  flow  of  as 
pirate  syllables — a  little  address  it  seemed.  The 
sounds  were  pleasant  to  the  ear,  but  often  barely 


232         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

audible.  As  he  spoke,  he  pointed  now  and  then  to 
the  half-dozen  others  about  him. 

We  followed  Gale  ashore,  and  something  like  a 
general  hand-shaking  took  place.  The  youth's  fol 
lowers,  however,  showed  no  disposition  to  do  more 
than  lay  their  palms  to  ours  for  a  brief  instant,  and 
then  retire.  But  when  the  youth  himself  came  to 
Ferratoni,  their  hands  lingered  together,  and  the 
puzzled  look  that  had  been  on  the  face  of  each 
melted  away.  Then  the  youth  spoke  again,  still 
holding  Ferratoni's  hand.  When  he  had  finished, 
the  latter,  turning  to  us,  said : 

"  He  is  the  Prince  of  the  Purple  Fields.  We 
are  in  the  borders  of  his  domain.  With  his  follow 
ers  he  escorted  until  yesterday  a  young  lady  of  his 
court  for  a  distance  on  her  journey  to  the  Land  of 
the  Silent  Cold.  It  was  she  we  passed.  Two 
days  ago  something  which  must  have  been  our  bal 
loon  bag  was  blown  to  them,  and  it  was  thought  we 
were  not  far  distant.  They  have  dimly  known  of 
our  coming,  somewhat  as  I  had  received  an  im 
pression  of  their  existence." 

We  regarded  our  companion  with  increasing 
wonder  and  amazement. 

"  But,  Ferratoni,"  I  said,  "  you  do  not  mean  to 
say  that  you  understand  their  language." 

"  Not  the  words.  The  language  of  thought  is 
the  same  to  all  men.  The  vibration  between  us  is 


PRINCE  OF  THE  PURPLE  FIELDS.  233 

by  no  means  perfect,  but  when  timed  to  the  slow 
measure  of  speech,  the  mental  echo  is  sufficiently 
good  to  follow  his  meaning." 

"  Look  here,"  asked  Gale,  "  can't  you  twist  up 
my  strings  a  little?  I'd  like  to  get  in  key  and  know 
what's  going  on,  too." 

"  And  does  he  also  follow  your  thought?  "  I  put 
in. 

But  the  youth  was  speaking  again  and  Ferratoni 
gave  him  close  attention.  Then  he  interpreted. 

'  The  conscious  exchange  of  thought  without 
words,  he  tells  me,  marks  their  advancement  in  com 
munication — perhaps  somewhat  as  the  wireless  in 
terchange  of  words  marks  ours.  Their  progress 
has  been  along  different  lines  it  seems.  The  Prince 
and  his  sister,  the  Princess  of  the  Lilied  Hills,  whose 
domain  lies  beyond  this,  bid  us  welcome.  Your 
thought,  however,  he  does  not  reach  as  yet,  except 
through  me,  and  this  requires  a  double  or  repeated 
process,  somewhat  like  translation." 

"  Well,"  muttered  Gale,  "  I'm  rather  glad  of  that. 
I  want  to  have  a  few  thinks  all  to  myself  when  I'm 
in  a  new  place  and  seeing  things." 

The  Prince  now  said  something  further  to  Fer 
ratoni,  and  then  with  his  suite  set  off  up  the  bank. 

"  Their  boats  are  just  above,"  the  latter  ex 
plained.  "  We  are  to  overtake  them,  and  all  pro 
ceed  up  the  river  together." 


234         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

Around  a  little  bend  we  found  them  waiting  for 
us.  They  had  two  barges,  long,  graceful  and  beau 
tiful,  similar  to  the  canoe  of  the  American  Indian 
in  shape,  but  propelled  by  slender  oars  in  the  hands 
of  tall,  youthful  oarsmen  of  bare  arms  and  heads, 
and  fair,  smooth  faces.  Near  the  center  of  each 
craft  there  was  a  sail  of  the  simplest  banner  form, 
white  but  embroidered  with  the  blue  flower  of  the 
Prince's  domain.  Truly  they  seemed  to  us  as  an  in 
tegral  part  of  the  world  about  them. 

Mr.  Sturritt,  who  had  hitherto  remained  silent, 
leaned  over  to  me  and  murmured  : 

"  Look — er — at  them,  and — and  then  at  us. 
We're  not  very — that  is — attractive,  while  they— 
why  it's  just  as  if  they  were  condensed — I  should 
say — er — materialized,  as  it  were,  from  the  ele 
ments." 

And  Chauncey  Gale: 

"  Better  food  than  tablets,  just  to  look  at  them, 
eh,  Bill?" 

"  Sustenance  for  the  soul/'  said  Ferratom. 


XXVIII. 

A    HARBOR   OF    FORGOTTEN    DREAMS. 

OCT.  5.  For  seven  days  we  have  ascended  this 
silent,  flowing  river,  and  to-night  we  rest  in  the 
palace  of  the  Prince.  At  least  we  call  him  the 
Prince,  though  Ferratoni  has  explained  to  us  that 
the  word  hardly  carries  the  thought  as  conveyed  to 
him.  One  whom  the  others  follow  and  emulate,  he 
thinks  would  be  more  exact,  but  this  would  mean 
prince,  too,  in  our  acceptation  of  the  word,  and  so 
"  Prince  "  he  has  become  to  us,  and  we  would  not 
wish  for  a  better  title  for  this  fair  serene  youth, 
whose  unvexed  spirit  and  gentle  sway  of  those  about 
him  have  wrought  a  spell  upon  us  all. 

We  have  enjoyed  his  bounteous  hospitality, 
and  often  he  has  traveled  in  our  boat,  convers 
ing  with  Ferratoni,  who  has  translated  to  us.  I 
have  made  no  previous  record,  as  I  desired  first  to 
get  some  definite  impression  of  this  new-found 
country  and  its  people.  What  their  impression  of 
us  has  been  it  would  not  be  easy  to  say. 

I  am  not  surprised  that  we  have  awakened  in 
them  a  vague  wonder  and  uneasiness  rather  than  ad- 

235 


236         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

miration.  At  least  Ferratoni  says  that  this  is  the 
case.  Our  boat  with  its  propeller  has  been  exam 
ined  with  what  seemed  to  me  a  mingling  of  mild 
curiosity  and  respect,  and  I  think  with  very  little 
idea  of  adopting  its  plans  or  processes.  Its  unbeau- 
tiful  lines  and  the  jar  of  its  propeller  would  not  ac 
cord  with  their  placid  and  graceful  lives.  Our  va 
rious  instruments  and  our  watches  they  regard  with 
something  akin  to  fear.  Perhaps  like  our  ancestors 
they  consider  them  the  result  of  witchery.  When 
our  balloon  bag  which  preceded  us  was  explained  to 
them,  as  well  as  our  adventures  since  leaving  the 
Billowcrest,  they  showed  little  interest,  and  certain 
ly  found  no  pleasure  in  any  episode  of  this  some 
what  turbulent  period.  The  picture  of  Chauncey 
Gale  being  jerked  and  battered  through  a  snow-drift 
did  not,  as  to  us,  give  joy,  now  that  it  was  all  over, 
and  Gale's  neck  and  limbs  still  properly  adjusted. 
To  them  it  was  a  distressing,  because  unbeautiful, 
incident.  Something  to  be  deplored  quietly  and 
forgotten  quickly. 

For  the  people  of  this  secluded  land,  if  we  may 
judge  by  those  we  have  seen,  are  all  grace,  all  re 
pose,  all  serenity  of  demeanor.  Ambition  and 
achievement — of  such  kind  at  least  as  we  know  and 
prize — seem  foreign  to  their  lives.  They  do  not 
venture — or  very  rarely — beyond  the  violet  bound 
aries,  even  during  the  long  summer  day.  The  re- 


A  HARBOR  OF  DREAMS.          237 

gion  without — the  Land  of  the  Silent  Cold — is  to 
them  the  country  of  the  dead. 

Any  lingering  doubt  I  may  have  cherished  that 
my  lost  uncle  had  found  harbor  here  has  been  des 
troyed  by  the  fact  that  they  have  no  knowledge  of 
the  world  without.  Something  of  its  existence 
seems  to  have  been  dimly  known  to  them  by  tradi 
tion,  and  perhaps  through  vague  mental  impres 
sions,  but  heretofore  no  word  from  those  beyond 
the  great  outer  barrier  has  ever  come  to  them. 
They  have  speculated  very  dreamily  upon  the  mat 
ter — even  more  so  than  we  have  upon  the  inhabit 
ants  of  other  planets — and  have  made  as  little  at 
tempt  to  reach  them.  When  we  came  nearer  to 
their  zone  of  vibration  the  Prince  and  his  sister, 
who  it  seems  are  the  high  priests  of  this  peculiar 
development,  were  able  to  establish  some  sort  of 
communication  with  Ferratoni,  whose  mental  ad 
justment  is  less  foreign  to  them  than  ours.  But  it 
was  an  imperfect  chord — a  poor  connection  as  we 
would  say — and  not  until  the  Prince  and  Ferratoni 
were  face  to  face  and  palm  to  palm  was  the  result 
definite  and  tangible. 

Their  progress,  such  as  it  is,  has  been  along  lines 
totally  different  from  those  of  our  people.  They 
resemble  the  Orientals  in  some  respects — or  at  least 
the  idea  we  have  of  the  Orientals  of  a  long  ago  time. 
From  what  I  have  seen  I  judge  that  their  mechani- 


238         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

cal  appliances  are  as  those  of  a  far  antiquity. 
Beautiful,  indeed,  but  to  a  people  like  us  valuable 
only  as  curios.  To  this,  however,  there  appears  to 
be  one  exception.  The  Prince  has  to-day  explained 
to  Ferratoni  a  new  process,  invented  by  himself  and 
his  serene  sister,  the  Princess  of  the  Lilied  Hills, 
for  dispelling  darkness.  It  seems  to  be  a  large 
plate  of  metal  (probably  a  sort  of  yellow  aluminum, 
which  we  at  first  took  for  gold  and  is  the  only  metal 
we  have  seen  thus  far),  and  this  is  arranged  to  re 
ceive,  by  induction,  electric  waves  from  the  Aurora 
Australis,  radiating  them  again  in  the  form  of  a 
continuous  glow.  At  least,  it  is  expected  to  do  so 
—we  do  not  understand  that  it  has  been  perfected 
as  yet,  and  as  we  are  to  see  it  later  it  is  more  than 
likely  that  Ferratoni  and  Gale  will  be  able  to  im 
prove  it  greatly.  It  appears  to  be  the  one  real  me 
chanical  attempt  of  this  languid  race — the  child  of 
their  one  great  necessity — and  the  Prince  believes 
that  when  perfected  it  will  strengthen  their  people 
and  give  them  longer  life. 

As  it  is,  they  are  enervated  by  the  long  summer 
day,  and  depleted  still  further  by  the  long  night  that 
follows.  When  the  first  vigor  of  youth  wanes,  and 
often  before,  they  pass  quickly  out  of  life,  and  usu 
ally,  the  Prince  tells  us,  without  pain.  They  regard 
Gale  as  old — and  Mr.  Sturritt  as  a  veritable  patri 
arch. 

The  contrast  between  them  and  us  is  very  great. 


A  HARBOR  OF  DREAMS.          239 

Between  Chauncey  Gale  and  the  Prince  it  is  worth 
going  far  to  see.  The  one,  all  languorous  grace 
and  spiritual  repose;  the  other,  all  nerve  force  and 
vigor,  all  action  and  muscle  and  overflowing  energy. 

At  least,  the  latter  applied  to  Gale  a  few  days 
ago.  The  spell  of  quiet  content  that  lies  upon  this 
land  has  possessed  him  now,  somewhat,  as  it  has  the 
others.  Like  us,  he  is  willing  to  rest  after  our  hard 
battle  with  the  snowdrifts — to  sail  without  question, 
almost  without  comment  along  these  peaceful 
shores. 

"  They  don't  seem  to  need  homes  and  firesides, 
nor  Johnnie's  missionary  work  in  this  country,"  he 
remarked  to-day,  after  a  long  silence.  Then  we 
both  grew  sad,  remembering  that  we  had  received 
no  word  from  the  vessel  for  so  long.  The  bell  of 
the  telephone  rang  a  little  yesterday,  and  we  thought 
there  was  a  sound  of  mingled  words  in  the  receiver, 
but  nothing  intelligible.  The  Prince,  when  the  na 
ture  and  use  of  the  invention  was  explained  to  him, 
regarded  us  with  what  seemed  a  mild  added  wonder, 
as  well  as  pity,  that  we  should  need  such  an  affair 
when  we  already  have,  each  within  his  head,  a  far 
better  means  of  communication  if  we  would  but  de 
velop  it. 

There  are  trees  along  the  banks  now— curious 
semi-tropical  trees,  most  of  them — and  the  violets 
have  been  replaced  here  by  a  multitude  of  more  gor- 


240        THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

geous  blossoms.  Dwellings  and  people  we  saw  to 
day  for  the  first  time.  The  people  congregate  it 
would  seem — the  result  of  the  long  night — and 
there  are  no  dwellers  of  the  fields,  save  in  midsum 
mer.  Then  they  inhabit  tents  until  the  harvests, 
which  the  warm,  untilled  earth  bountifully  provides 
for  them,  are  gathered.  Such  as  we  have  seen  were 
collected  along  the  shore  to  see  us  pass.  There 
was  no  eager  curiosity  or  excitement.  Some,  in 
deed,  slowly  waved  their  arms  or  banners  as  we  ap 
proached,  but  this  I  take  it  was  more  as  a  tribute  to 
the  Prince  than  a  greeting  to  the  strangers. 

Their  houses,  like  everything  else  of  this  unvexed 
land,  appear  to  have  grown,  rather  than  to  have 
been  built,  and  are  essentially  a  part  of  the  land 
scape.  Whatever  the  contour  of  the  location  the 
house  conforms  to  it.  Many  are  against  hillsides, 
and  are  built  in  terrace  form,  with  flowers  at  the 
top  of  each  story,  forming,  as  it  were,  a  garden  for 
the  next.  They  are  for  the  most  part  laid  up  of  un 
hewn  stone,  logs,  limbs,  and  even  interwoven  brush. 
Frequently  some  surface  of  the  living  rock,  or  a 
huge  bowlder,  or  a  growing  tree  may  become  a  part 
of,  and  blend  into,  the  habitation.  It  is  not  always 
easy  to  tell  where  nature  ends  and  artifice  begins,  or 
even  to  distinguish  some  of  the  humbler  dwellings 
at  first  glance. 

The  terrace  form  prevails  more  than  any  other  it 


A  HARBOR  OF  DREAMS.          241 

seems;  so  much  so  that  Gale  has  conferred  on  this 
race  the  name  of  "  Terrace  Dwellers,"  which  effort 
we  regard  as  more  of  a  success  than  some  of  his 
former  attempts  at  nomenclature.  Even  when  the 
home  is  built  upon  a  level  spot  the  lower  story  usu 
ally  extends  and  forms  a  floral  garden  for  the  one 
above. 

Flowers  there  are,  everywhere — many  that  we 
seem  to  recognize,  but  many  more  that  we  have  not 
seen.  From  what  the  Prince  tells  Ferratoni,  I 
gather  that  while  they  last,  every  ceremonial  of 
whatever  sort,  is  a  great  feast  of  flowers. 

The  fact  that  my  camera  was  not  on  board  when 
we  took  our  premature  flight  into  the  unknown  is  a 
matter  of  deep  regret  to  me,  for  I  would  fain  pre 
serve  some  more  permanent  impressions  of  these 
placid  and  beautiful  shores. 

But  we  have  reached  the  Prince's  palace.  It  is  a 
succession  of  wonderful  terraces,  beginning  at  the 
river  front,  and  extending  back  to  the  hills  behind  it. 
Each  terrace  is  supported  by  a  row  of  slender  col 
umns,  and  on  the  outer  edge  of  each  a  carved  railing 
leads  to  a  graceful  outside  stairway  that  ascends 
from  one  step  of  flowers  to  the  next.  At  the  sum 
mit,  on  a  level  with  the  hills,  the  last  step  forms  a 
round  colonaded  eyrie,  on  the  top  of  which  the  sun 
still  lingers.  Along  the  terraces  are  groups  of  wait 
ing  people  who,  as  we  approach,  wave  tranquilly 
16 


242         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

their  white  arms  to  the  Prince.  Their  dress  and  at 
titudes  suggest  some  dim,  forgotten  land  of  the 
East.  Us  they  regard  with  placid  curiosity,  yet 
with  a  gentle  friendliness  evident  in  their  faces. 

Now,  from  the  wide  portal  of  the  lower  story, 
come  many  down  the  broad,  white  steps  to  greet 
us.  Young  are  they  all,  and  beautiful — creatures 
of  an  unknown  world,  while  from  either  side  troop 
bare-armed  boys  and  girls,  chanting  a  low,  rhythmic 
melody  of  welcome. 

So  are  we  come  at  last  to  the  land  of  my  fancy. 
And  a  land  of  fancy  indeed  it  seems  to  us.  A  har 
bor  for  vanished  argosies  and  forgotten  dreams.  A 
port  for  lost  rhymes  and  strayed  melodies — for  dis 
carded  magic  and  alchemies  long  dead.  And  it  is 
in  this  enchanted  vale  that  we  find  once  more  the 
shelter  of  human  habitation. 

We  shall  rest  to-night  with  the  Prince  of  the 
Purple  Fields. 


"1 


THK  PALACE  OF  THE  PRINCE. 
••  A  harbor  for  vanished  argosies  and  forgotten  dreams." — Page  242. 


XXIX. 

A    LAND    OF    THE    HEART'S    DESIRE. 

OCT.  12.  This  is  the  land  of  harmony.  Here, 
shut  in  from  the  outer  world  by  the  crystal  walls  of 
the  ages,  rhythmic  vibrations  of  the  universe 
have  blossomed  in  a  fair,  frail,  almost  supernatural 
life.  Here  the  ideals  of  Ferratoni  are  the  realities 
of  the  daily  round,  while  the  dreams  of  Edith  Gale 
are  but  as  the  play  language  of  little  children. 

Here,  shut  away  from  the  greed  and  struggle  of 
the  life  we  know — few  in  numbers  and  simple  in 
their  material  needs,  fragile  and  brief  in  their  span 
of  physical  existence  and  plunged  for  half  the  year 
into  a  sunless  period  of  contemplation — the  lives  of 
the  people  have  linked  themselves  with  the  sun  and 
stars,  with  the  woods  and  fields,  with  the  winds  and 
waters,  and  with  each  other,  in  one  rare,  universal 
chord. 

It  is  the  natural  result  of  the  long  periods  of  sun 
and  darkness.  The  polar  night  binds  them  in  closer 
sympathy,  even  as  it  did  those  of  the  Billow- 
crest,  while  during  the  long  sunny  day  they  have 
only  to  bask  in  the  sun  and  dream,  and  let  the  fecund 

243 


244         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

soil  provide  amply  for  their  wants.  There  is  no 
need  of  struggle — no  effort,  save  to  retain  life,  if  I 
may  apply  that  term  to  this  languorous  melody  of 
existence  wherein  greed,  jealousy,  vanity  and  the 
other  elements  of  discord  find  no  place. 

There  is  no  old  age  here — our  most  frequent  ex 
cuse  for  greed.  No  necessity  for  a  life  of  heavy 
toil  to  provide  for  a  ghastly  period  when  all  save 
physical  want  has  perished. 

Indeed,  there  is  little  effort  here  of  any  sort. 
They  are  not  even  obliged  to  talk,  for  their  minds 
are  as  open  books,  and  there  is  not,  as  with  us,  the 
need  of  many  words  to  cloud  and  diffuse  a  few  poor 
thoughts,  that  in  the  beginning  were  hardly  worth 
while. 

Truth  here  is  not  a  luxury — a  thing  produced 
with  difficulty  and  therefore  conserved  for  special 
occasions — but  an  abounding  necessity,  like  air  and 
water.  Concealment,  ever  the  first  step  toward  sor 
row,  is  impossible. 

Love  flowers  naturally  and  where  all  may  see. 
Marriage  is  union,  and  separation  unknown.  Joy 
to  one  is  answered  in  the  bosom  of  many,  and  grief 
is  the  minor  chord  that  stirs  mournfully  the  heart 
of  a  multitude.  Verily  is  it  a  "  Land  of  the 
Heart's  Desire," 

"  Where  nobody  ever  grows  old,  and  crafty  and  wise — 
Where  nobody  ever  grows  false  and  bitter  of  tongue." 


A  LAND  OF  HEARTS  DESIRE.      245 

If  I  seem  to  have  waxed  poetic  in  speaking  of 
these  people,  it  is  because  poetry  is  the  language  and 
breath  of  their  race.  Even  Chauncey  Gale  has 
imbibed  something  of  the  pervading  spirit,  and 
adapted  his  phraseology  to  the  conditions. 

'  The  chant  of  the  trolley  and  the  song  of  the 
lawn-mower  are  heard  not  nor  needed,"  he  said  to 
me  this  morning,  as  we  looked  from  our  high  ter 
race  down  on  the  dream  world  below. 

I  speak  of  it  as  morning,  but  there  is  no  morning 
now.  It  is  always  afternoon — the  afternoon  of  a 
June  day,  before  the  gray  dust  and  the  withering 
heat  of  summer  have  begun  their  blight.  We  have 
been  here  a  week  and  we  would  roam  no  farther. 
The  world,  the  vessel,  the  crew — even  Edith  Gale — 
all  seem  as  a  page  of  some  half-forgotten  tale — 
something  of  another  and  long-ago  existence  in 
which  we  have  no  further  part.  The  spell  of  the 
lotus  is  upon  us.  The  lives  of  the  lotus-eaters  have 
become  our  lives. 

We  have  laid  off  our  travel-stained  dress,  shaved 
our  beards,  and  become  in  appearance  even  as  those 
about  us.  Ferratoni  is  as  one  to  the  manor  born. 
Mr.  Sturritt  might  have  been  a  seer  and  a  high 
priest  from  childhood.  His  (to  them)  extreme  age 
has  commanded  their  wonder  and  reverence,  and  his 
pink  dessert  lozenges  are  highly  regarded  as  a  new 
and  most  delightful  confection.  Altogether  he  is 


2*6         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

in  high  favor,  ranking  next,  it  would  seem,  to  Fer- 
ratoni,  who,  as  the  favorite  of  the  Prince,  and  in 
terpreter  for  the  rest  of  us,  is  exalted  somewhat  un 
duly.  As  for  Gale,  whose  physical  and  facial  lines 
are  perhaps  most  at  variance  with  those  about  us,  he 
has  put  himself  on  low  diet  in  order  to  train  down 
to  a  poetic  basis,  and  goes  about  reciting  verses, 
remembered  from  childhood,  to  slender  youths  and 
fair,  reclining  women,  who  listen  drowsily  as  they 
bathe  in  the  life-giving  rays  of  the  returning  sun. 
Yesterday  I  heard  him  repeating  "  Mary's  Little 
Lamb  "  to  a  group  of  languid  listeners.  It  did  not 
matter — they  do  not  understand  his  words,  and  his 
thought  vibrations  are,  I  suspect,  altogether  too 
highly  tensioned  for  this  deliberate  race. 

Now  that  there  is  no  more  night  the  people  live 
out  of  doors.  There  are  no  regular  hours  for  sleep 
or  food.  Soft-footed,  bare-limbed  boys  bring 
viands  at  call,  while  Aeolian  harps,  yielding  pillows, 
and  the  perfume  of  flowers  everywhere  woo  to 
somnolence  and  repose.  Our  food  consists  mainly 
of  preserved  fruits,  also  the  meat  of  a  curious,  silk 
en-haired  goat  which  these  people  possess,  and 
sometimes  that  of  the  strange,  leaping  rabbit  crea 
ture — these  being  their  only  animals.  The  flesh  of 
birds  and  fishes,  however,  is  plentiful,  and  to  these 
things  are  added  many  preparations  of  their  chief 
cereal,  a  sort  of  rice,  which  yields  abundantly  each 


A  LAND  OF  HEARTS  DESIRE.      247 

year,  without  planting.  Our  sweets  are  from  the 
sap  of  a  tree,  even  finer  and  more  delicate  of  flavor 
than  our  northern  maple.  Wine  we  have  from  the 
wild  grapes  that  ripen  later  in  great  abundance. 

Within  the  palace  I  find  many  curious  little  lamps 
and  torches, — their  provision  against  the  long  night. 
The  walls  and  floors  are  draped  with  yielding  fab 
rics,  woven  from  the  silken  fleece  of  the  goat,  and 
from  the  long  hair  of  the  "  skipteroon."  Of  feath 
er  work,  too,  I  have  seen  some  delicate  examples. 
Their  looms  for  weaving,  their  implements  for 
harvesting,  their  utensils  for  preparing  food,  are  all 
of  the  simplest  and  most  primitive  form,  such  as  our 
earliest  ancestors  might  have  employed,  and  as  may 
be  in  use  to-day  in  lands  where  mechanism  has  made 
little  or  no  progress.  Their  one  attempt  in  this 
direction  is  their  invention  for  dispelling  darkness, 
and  this  has  not  yet  been  shown  to  us,  for  the  com 
plaisant  Prince  has  been  quiescent  since  our  arrival, 
and  we  have  fallen  into  the  way  of  it  all,  and  are 
willing  to  procrastinate,  and  to  keep  on  procrastinat 
ing  while  the  circling  sun  dispenses  the  anodyne  of 
eternal  afternoon. 

It  is  not  strange  that  like  the  nations  of  the  In- 
cas  these  people  should  be  worshippers  of  the  sun. 
To  them  comes  the  fullest  realization  of  its  life- 
giving  glory,  and  the  joyless  stagnation  of  the 
death-breathing  dark.  We  who  sleep  through 


248         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

much  of  the  sun's  absence  come  naturally  to  regard 
it  somewhat  as  a  useful  and  not  always  agreeable 
adjunct  to  our  lives.  Yet  even  we,  after  days  of 
dull  weather — black  nights  and  murky  mornings — 
welcome  joyously  the  return  of  the  life-giver,  while 
to  these  people  it  would  be  strange  indeed  if  the 
great  luminary  had  not  become  at  least  the  shin 
ing  symbol  of  Infinity.  The  terrace  form  of  their 
dwelling  is,  I  think,  suggested  by  the  sun's  gradual 
circling  ascent  and  descent  of  the  sky,  and  from  the 
topmost  step  or  story  they  assemble  to  bid  it  joy 
ous  welcome  and  reverential  farewell.  The  world 
itself  here  appears  to  be  a  sort  of  terrace,  the  first 
step  of  which  we  ascended  when  we  reached  the 
Violet  Fields.  The  next  is  the  approach  to  the  land 
ruled  over  by  the  Prince's  serene  sister,  whom  we 
are  soon  to  see,  for  though  we  are  loth  to  depart 
from  this  pleasant  vale,  we  are  daily  required  by  a 
mental  message  from  her  to  proceed  farther  on  our 
journey. 

To-morrow,  therefore,  or  the  next  day.  or  the  day 
after,  we  must  ascend  still  higher  this  enchanted 
river  and  "  pause  not  unduly,  nor  idly  linger  " — so 
her  august  message  runs — until  we  shall  arrive  at 
the  palarf  of  the  Lady  of  the  Lilied  Hills. 


XXX. 

THE    LADY    OF    THE    LILIES. 

AND  now,  indeed,  we  are  in  the  land  of  anodyne 
and  oblivion.  Once  more  we  dream  and  forget,  and 
the  palace  of  the  Prince  dims  out  and  fades,  even  as 
the  barpes  that  brought  us  drift  back  down  the  tide 
and  disappear  in  the  distant  blue.  Here  is  the 
world's  enchanted  and  perfumed  casket,  and  here 
within  it  lies  the  world's  rarest  jewel  of  sorcery — 
the  Princess  of  the  Lilied  Hills. 

We  have  been  here  but  a  brief  time — I  no  longer 
keep  a  record  of  the  days — and  we  are  bound  hand 
and  foot,  as  it  were,  by  the  spell  of  this  Circe  of  the 
South.  In  the  first  moment  that  we  were  ushered 
into  her  presence,  and  beheld  her  in  her  white  robe 
of  state,  embroidered  with  the  pale  yellow  flower 
of  her  kingdom,  whatever  remained  to  us  of  the 
past  slipped  away  like  water  through  the  fingers. 
Chauncey  Gale  forgot  that  he  had  a  yacht,  and  both 
of  us  that  he  had  a  daughter.  Mr.  Sturritt  forgot 
everything  but  his  packages  of  pink  lozenges,  which 
he  reverentially  laid  at  her  feet,  thereby  earning  her 

cordial  acknowledgments  and  our  bitter  jealousy. 

249 


250         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

Ferratoni,  however,  was  not  long  at  a  loss.  He 
could  converse  with  her,  and  it  became  evident  al 
most  from  the  start  that  he  did  not  care  to  trans 
late  either  fully  or  literally.  He  cut  out,  and  re 
vised,  and  stumbled.  She  detected  his  difficulty,  of 
course,  and  seemed  to  reprove  him.  Then  he  gave 
up  translating  altogether,  and  the  rest  of  us  sat 
there,  simply  staring  at  her,  until  Gale  got  himself 
together  and  recited  the  "  Burning  Deck,"  while  I 
suffered  in  spirit  because  reciting  did  not  seem  to  be 
quite  what  I  wanted  to  do,  and  I  could  remember 
no  other  tricks  to  perform. 

I  finally  prevailed  upon  Ferratoni  to  tell  her  that 
it  was  I  who  had  conceived  the  expedition,  where 
upon  Gale  hastily  claimed  credit  for  having  made  it 
possible,  while  Mr.  Sturritt — Sturritt  the  timid  and 
unassuming — boldly  stated  that  without  him  and  his 
tablets  we  should  have  perished  by  the  wayside.  It 
was  altogether  distressing  to  hear  them. 

When  we  were  through,  she  looked  fondly  at 
Ferratoni,  and  then,  still  tenderly  regarding  him,  ex 
pressed  thanks  to  all  of  us  with  a  fervency  that  was 
gratifying  to  him  no  doubt,  but  that  to  the  rest  of 
us  seemed  a  poor  reward. 

She  added,  presently,  that  as  I  was  interested 
in  the  central  point  of  the  kingdom — the  South 
Pole,  of  course — and  that  as  Gale  was  inter 
ested  in  the  people's  homes  and  firesides,  and  Mr. 


THE  LADY  OF  THE  LILIES.        251 

Sturritt  in  the  matter  of  their  food,  she  would  have 
us  escorted  about  with  a  view  to  our  observation  of 
these  things,  but  that  Ferratoni,  whose  life  and  aims 
were  not  so  widely  different  from  her  own,  would 
remain  with  her  to  discuss  the  problems  in  which 
they  were  mutually  interested. 

Perhaps  she  did  not  put  it  just  in  this  way,  but 
Ferratoni  did  in  his  translation;  then  they  both 
turned  away  and  forgot  our  existence.  We  were 
conducted  outside,  ere  long,  and  there  was  a  barge 
at  the  door  into  which  it  was  indicated  that  we 
should  enter. 

We  did  not  do  so,  however.  The  boatmen  were 
in  no  haste  and  neither  were  we.  There  is  no  haste 
in  this  land.  We  lay  down  by  the  shore  and  looked 
serenely  to  the  south  where  rose  a  lofty  terraced 
temple,  the  top  of  which  we  had  observed  from  a 
great  distance.  We  had  been  told  it  was  their 
chief  temple  of  worship,  and  located  exactly  in  the 
center  of  the  sun's  daily  circuit.  Resting  thus  on 
the  earth's  axis,  it  became  for  us  the  outward  and 
material  symbol  of  our  objective  point — of  my  life's 
ambition.  It  was  the  South  Pole ! 

And  now  that  we  are  here  and  it  rises  before  us, 
the  eagerness  to  set  foot  upon  that  magic  point — to 
scale  and  stand  triumphant  on  the  apex  of  the  pole 
itself,  as  it  were,  has  passed. 

"  So  that  is  the  South    Pole,"    murmurs    Gale. 


252         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

11  Well,  I  never  would  have  recognized  it  if  I'd  seen 
it  any  place  else.  Let's  don't  be  in  too  big  a  hurry 
to  get  to  it,  Nick." 

"  No,"  I  answer,  "  suppose  we  wait  awhile.  Per 
haps  if  we  wait  long  enough  the  South  Pole  will 
come  to  us." 

For  there  can  be  no  eagerness  in  this  land.  It 
would  be  wholly  out  of  place.  Neither  are  we 
acutely  jealous  of  Ferratoni.  Acuteness  would  be 
out  of  place  also. 

And  so  we  drowse  in  the  fragrance  of  the  lilies, 
and  soft-eyed,  soft-voiced  people  come  and  sing  to 
us,  while  the  barge  waits  and  becomes  a  picture  on 
the  tide. 

And  then  there  falls  silence,  and  it  is  as  if  the 
world  and  the  palace  slept,  and  so  would  sleep 
until  the  wakening  kiss. 


XXXI. 

THE  POLE  AT  LAST. 

NOVEMBER  (  ) .  At  the  top  of  the  Temple  of 
the  Sun. 

I  do  not  know  the  precise  date,  or  the  hour.  Our 
watches  have  long  since  stopped,  and  there  has  been 
neither  the  desire  nor  the  need  to  wind  them.  In  a 
land  where  the  sun  slips  round  the  sky,  and  for  half 
a  year  no  night  cometh,  the  proper  measure  of  time 
is  of  little  matter. 

Neither  have  I  continued  the  record  of  these  notes, 
for  I  thought  each  day  to  visit  this  spot,  and  so 
waited.  In  the  light  of  the  Lily  Princess  we  have 
lingered  and  drowsed.  From  the  peace  of  her 
pleasant  palace  we  have  not  cared  to  stray.  And 
she  has  smiled  kindly  upon  us  all,  though  from  the 
first  it  has  been  evident  that  her  joy  lies  in  Ferratoni, 
and  that,  in  the  princess,  he  too  has  found  at  last 
the  ideal — the  perfect  spirit  vibration  that  completes 
the  chord  of  souls. 

We  have  become  glad  of  this  and  rejoice  in  his 
happiness.  That  is,  we  have  rejoiced  as  much  a< 

253 


254         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

anybody  ever  rejoices  in  this  halcyon  land.  We 
have  been  peacefully  and  limpidly  content,  and 
their  serene  bliss  has  been  our  compensation. 

Yet  there  have  been  other  rewards.  We  have 
mingled  with  the  fair  people  of  the  court  and  found 
something  of  the  bliss  of  their  untroubled  lives. 

Also,  we  have  learned  somewhat  of  their  con 
verse — that  is,  we  have  learned  to  imagine  that 
we  know  what  they  are  thinking  and  saying,  while 
they  have  learned,  or  imagine  they  have  learned, 
about  us,  too;  and  in  this  land  to  imagine  that  you 
have  learned  these  things  is  much  the  same  as 
if  you  had  really  done  so,  for  in  a  place  where  life  is 
reduced  to  a  few  simple  principles,  and  there  is 
neither  the  reason  nor  the  wish  to  plan,  or  discuss, 
or  quarrel  about  anything,  what  you  say  and  think, 
or  what  they  say  and  think  in  reply,  cannot  be  wide 
of  the  mark  in  any  case.  As  with  time,  exactness. 
or  the  lack  of  it,  does  not  matter.  Indeed,  nothing 
matters  much  in  this  balmy  vale.  Lingering  on  a 
lilied  bank  in  the  sun — with — with  any  one  of  these 
gentle  people,  life  becomes  a  soothing  impression 
u-hich  minuteness  and  detail  would  only  mar. 

We  have  learned,  too,  though  rather  vaguely, 
something  of  the  customs  of  the  race,  and  the  life 
of  those  who  dwell  beyond  the  palace  gates.  They 
are  not  a  numerous  people  and  their  ways  are  primi 
tive.  Nature  provides  their  food,  and  their  gar- 


THE  POLE  AT  LAST.  255 

ments  are  few  and  simple.  Only  the  construction 
of  their  dwellings  calls  for  any  serious  outlay  of 
toil,  and  in  this  they  unite  as  in  a  festival  until  the 
labor  is  complete.  Their  harvests  are  conducted 
in  the  same  manner,  and  in  these  things  they  are  not 
widely  different  from  our  pioneer  ancestors,  who  ex 
changed  labors  of  the  field,  and  merrily  joined  in 
their  house-raisings. 

Like  the  people  of  the  Incas,  the  Antarcticans  have 
no  money  and  no  need  of  it.  The  lands  are  held  in 
common,  and  the  harvests  yield  more  than  enough 
for  all.  Great  storehouses  hold  the  surplus,  from 
which  any  one  may  be  provided  in  time  of  need. 
Famine,  war,  and  the  complications  of  law  are  un 
known.  Indeed,  the  necessity  of  law  here  seems 
slight.  For  in  a  land  where  there  can  be  no  con 
cealment,  crime  must  languish  and  only  such  laws 
result  as  find  natural  and  willing  observance. 

Although  what  we  regarded  as  life  is  very  brief 
here,  there  is  no  dread  of  that  which  we  know  as 
death.  Death  in  fact  appears  to  have  no  real  em 
pire  in  this  land,  for  Ferratoni  assures  us  that  the 
disembodied  intelligence  still  vibrates  to  many  of 
those  clothed  in  the  physical  life,  until  it  passes  al 
together  out  of  range  in  its  progress  toward  that 
great  central  force,  which  they  believe  to  be  the  sun. 
To  Ferratoni  this  is  no  surprise.  To  the  rest  of  us 
it  is  a  matter  of  vague  wonder,  which  we  have  ac- 


256        THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

cepted  as  we  have  accepted  everything  else  of  this 
mystic  land  and  race. 

There  are  no  schools.  Education  appears  to  be 
absorbed  through  their  peculiar  faculty  of  mental 
communication  or  "  silent  speech,"  which  develops 
in  childhood,  and  is  now  almost  universal.  A  few 
appear  to  be  unable  to  master  it,  though  their  num 
ber  is  much  less  in  proportion  to  the  race  than  is  the 
number  of  those  who  with  us  are  lacking  in  the 
musical  sense.  In  fact  there  seems  to  be  a  close 
analogy,  or  possibly  a  relation  between  mental 
speech  and  the  musical  vibration — those  lacking  the 
ear  for  tune  and  melody,  they  tell  us,  being  deficient 
in  the  mental  perception  as  well.  The  number  of 
these  is  decreasing,  however,  with  each  generation, 
and  in  a  land  where  the  whole  atmosphere  breathes 
harmony  the  false  notes  must  blend  out  in  time,  and 
the  chord  at  last  become  universal  and  complete. 
There  is  a  written  language — a  sort  of  symbolic 
ideograph — but  with  the  perfection  of  their  mental 
attainments,  it  has  fallen  gradually  into  disuse, 
and  is  now  mainly  employed  in  ornamental  decora 
tion,  and  for  preserving  the  songs  and  records  of 
the  people.* 

*  In  no  place  does  Mr.  Chase  give  an  example  of  the  Antarctic 
speech  or  writing.  Even  the  native  word  for  their  deity  or  their 
country  is  avoided,  whether  by  intention  or  oversight  cannot 
now  be  ascertained. 


THE  POLE  A  T  LAST.  257 

Of  the  latter  we  know  but  little.  They  are  in 
the  keeping  of  the  Princess,  who,  since  our  arrival, 
has  been  altogether  too  happy  in  the  present  to  go 
delving  back  into  the  myths  of  her  ancestors.  We 
are  told  that  the  first  Princess  came  from  the  sun, 
and  in  this,  too,  the  Antarcticans  somewhat  resemble 
the  people  of  the  Incas.  In  fact,  they  have  so  much 
in  common  with  the  ancient  Peruvians  that  we  might 
suspect  a  common  origin,  were  it  not  for  their  dif 
ference  of  color,  and  even  this  becomes  less  marked 
with  each  round  of  their  ascending  deity. 

We  are  told  further  that  when  the  first  Princess 
came  to  the  earth  she  brought  so  much  of  the  sun 
light  with  her  that  the  great  luminary  was  dark  for 
three  days,  and  that  all  the  light  there  was  came 
from  the  heaven-sent  being.  It  is  said  she  found  the 
people  a  benighted  and  unsceptred  race,  even  then 
ready  to  destroy  the  life  of  a  gentle  youth  who  had 
risen  up  among  them  as  a  teacher  and  a  prophet. 
Overawed  by  her  glory,  they  had  dragged  him  be 
fore  her  for  final  judgment.  But  when  the  Princess 
had  looked  upon  the  fair  youth,  and  searched  with 
her  great  radiance  his  innermost  heart,  she  had  laid 
her  arms  about  his  shoulders  and  declared  him  her 
spouse,  beloved  of  heaven,  and  to  be  honored  only 
next  to  herself.  And  when  she  had  wedded  him 
there  before  all  the  people,  the  sun  had  suddenly 
burst  forth  and  laid  its  golden  blessing  upon  them, 


258         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

and  they  had  lived  and  reigned  and  enlightened  the 
race  for  many  years.  And  their  land  she  had  called 
the  Land  of  the  Sloping  Sun,  and  divided  it  into  the 
Lilied  Hills  and  the  Purple  Fields,  and  over  the  one 
the  eldest  daughter,  and  over  the  other  the  eldest 
son  of  each  generation  had  ruled. 

Two  thousand  long  nights  have  elapsed,  they  tell 
us,  since  the  coming  of  the  first  Sun  Princess,  and 
though  the  race  has  never  grown  numerous  or  hardy, 
it  has  become  gentle  and  content,  and  human  life  has 
not  been  destroyed  for  many  generations. 

They  are  deeply  opposed  to  what  we  know  as 
progress,*  believing  it  conducive  only  to  discon 
tent  and  evils  innumerable.  They  regard  with  sor 
rowful  distrust  our  various  mechanical  contrivances. 
They  are  not  surprised  to  learn  that  men  are  still 


*  In  comparing  Mr.  Chase's  record  of  the  customs  and  char- 
teristics  of  the  Antarctic  race  with  those  of  the  ancient  Peru 
vians,  we  find  in  Prescott  (The  Conquest)  a  paragraph  which 
reveals  still  further  the  striking  similarity  between  the  two 
races.  Prescott  says  : 

"  Ambition,  avarice,  the  love  of  change,  the  morbid  spirit  of 
discontent,  those  passions  which  most  agitate  the  minds  of 
men,  found  no  place  in  the  bosom  of  the  Peruvian.  The  very 
condition  of  his  being  seemed  to  be  at  war  with  change.  He 
moved  on  in  the  same  unbroken  circle  in  which  his  fathers 
had  moved  before  him,  and  in  which  his  children  were  to 
follow.  It  was  the  object  of  the  Incas  to  infuse  into  their  sub 
jects  a  spirit  of  tranquillity,  a  perfect  acquiescence  in  the 
established  order  of  things." 


THE  POLE  A  T  LAST.  259 

condemned  to  death  in  our  country,  for  the  last  man 
so  condemned  here  was  convicted  of  contriving  a 
means  to  propel  a  craft  without  oars — in  fact,  a, 
sail.  It  was  a  poor  sail  at  that,  and  of  little  value 
save  as  an  ornament.  I  said  we  might  punish  a 
man  in  our  country,  too,  for  inventing  such  a  sail, 
though  I  thought  we  would  hardly  kill  him.  And 
then  we  learned  that  this  man  wasn't  killed  either, 
for  the  Princess  of  that  time,  being  still  very  young 
and  unmarried,  had,  in  accordance  with  divine  pre 
cedent,  looked  upon  the  inventor  and  loved  him, 
and  granted  him  her  hand  in  marriage — for  this, 
it  appears,  was  their  one  method  of  royal  pardon, 
and  certainly  a  pleasant  one  for  the  inventor.  The 
sail,  she  told  them,  had  been  sent  from  the  sun,  so 
that  the  winds  of  the  fields  might  aid  them,  which 
was  all  very  beautiful,  though  it  seems  that  the  sun 
might  have  sent  a  better  sail. 

It  was  the  same  Princess  and  her  consort  who  be 
gan  this  great  central  temple  in  honor  of  their  hap 
piness,  and  who  established  as  universal  through 
out  the  nation  the  "  Pardon  of  Love  " — that  forever 
after  no  one  who  truly  loved,  and  was  so  beloved  in 
return,  could  perish  by  violence,  and  no  one  has  so 
perished  for  more  than  five  hundred  of  their  long 
nights.  The  invention  of  the  present  Princess  and 
her  brother — the  dark-dispeller — has  been  explained 
to  them  as  also  a  gift  of  the  sun,  to  aid  it  in  van- 


260         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

quishing  the  long  night,  though,  as  It  has  thus  far 
never  been  made  to  work  and  is  regarded  by  Gale 
as  hopeless,  it  would  seem  that  in  this  case,  as  in 
the  other,  the  sun  might  have  sent  a  better  one. 

This  temple,  however,  is  flawless.  It  stands  on 
an  island  in  the  midst  of  a  lake,  or  rather  a  widen 
ing  of  the  river,  and  is,  as  before  noted,  located  ex 
actly  at  the  point  where  the  sun,  during  its  daily 
circuit,  appears  always  equidistant,  above  the  hor 
izon.*  It  is  therefore  on  the  earth's  southern  axis, 
and  represents,  to  us,  the  South  Pole. 

Each  day  we  have  come  to  the  borders  of  the 
lake  and  viewed  this  wonderful  edifice  from  afar. 
When  I  say  "  each  day/'  I  mean  about  as  often  as 
that,  if  time  were  divided  in  the  old  way,  and  when 
I  say  "  we  "  I  refer  to  Chauncey  Gale,  Mr.  Sturritt 
and  myself,  also  to  the  Princess  and  Ferratoni  when 
they  chose  to  honor  us,  and  to  such  others  of  the 
court  as  cared  to  follow. 

We  have  meant  to  cross  over  to  this  island,  but 
we  could  come  any  time,  and  when  we  did  come 

*  It  is  noticeable  that  Mr.  Chase  furnishes  us  with  no  clue  as 
to  the  astronomical  knowledge  of  the  Antarctic  people.  We  are 
left  to  surmise  that  they  believe  the  earth  to  be  a  flat  circle  about 
which  the  sun  travels,  instead  of  a  revolving  orb  such  as  we 
know  it  to  be.  Many  other  things  which  seem  of  importance 
are  also  overlooked.  We  would  be  glad  to  know  more  of  the 
yellow  metal  once  referred  to,  and  something  of  their  minerals 
and  precious  stones,  which  are  nowhere  mentioned. 


THE  POLE  A  T  LAST.  261 

we  would  have  to  ascend  the  long  Ladder  of  the 
Sun — the  steps  leading  to  the  top — so  it  was  not 
well  to  hurry.  To-day,  however,  is  a  sort  of  cere 
monial — the  end,  or  somewhere  near  it,  of  the  first 
period  of  their  long  day,  which  they  divide  into  four 
parts,  as  we  do  our  lunar  periods.  The  Princess 
and  Ferratoni  and  a  train  of  followers  are  coming, 
so  we  have  set  out  ahead,  and  are  resting  here  on 
the  upper  or  topmost  terrace,  awaiting  them. 

There  are  four  of  these  terraces,  and  they  are  very 
high.  They  represent  the  four  divisions  of  the  day 
period — the  Flowers,  the  Fruitage,  the  Harvest, 
and  the  Farewell.  They  are  connected  by  long 
stairs — two  series,  on  opposite  sides  of  the  temple — 
one  for  the  sun  to  climb,  and  one  by  which  it  is  sup 
posed  to  descend  after  the  midsummer  solstice. 
As  I  suspected,  the  people  build  their  habitations 
to  conform,  not  only  to  the  earth's  surface,  but  also 
to  the  solar  phases,  and  this  temple  is  their  great 
architectural  culmination  and  model. 

In  the  center  of  the  upper  terrace  there  is  carved 
a  huge  dial,  or  calendar,  somewhat  resembling 
that  used  by  the  Aztecs.  It  is  divided  into  four 
equal  parts,  and  two  of  these  into  smaller  divisions 
by  rays  from  a  central  sun,  each  ray  signifying  a 
solar  circuit — one  hundred  and  eighty-two  and  one- 
half  such  divisions  representing  their  entire  summer 
day.  The  other  half  of  the  dial  is  left  unillumi- 


262         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 


nated,  so  to  speak,  thus  to  signify  the  long  night. 
In  this  dial  the  point  of  beginning  indicates  the 
direction  opposite  to  that  from  which  we  came. 
Here,  also,  ends  the  stairway  by  which  the  sun 
is  supposed  to  climb,  and  from  this  direction,  out 
of  the  unknown  and  uninhabited  lands  beyond,  a 
fair  river  flows  into  the  central  lake.  Between  two 


THE  ANTARCTIC  CALENDAR.    RUDK  SKETCH  FROM  MR.  CHASE'S  NOTE-BOOK. 

hills  in  the  far  distance  its  waters  touch  the  sky, 
thus  forming  a  narrow  gateway  on  the  horizon. 
And  through  this  come  the  earliest  rays  of  morn 
ing  after  the  period  of  darkness.  The  first  return 
ing  gleams  are  caught  and  borne  to  the  waiting 
people  by  the  ripple  of  the  inward  flowing  stream. 
And  for  this  they  have  named  it  the  "  River  of  Liv 
ing  Dawn." 


THE  POLE  A I  LAST.  263 

Directly  across  from  this  is  the  sun's  descending 
stairway,  and  there  also,  and  flowing  out  of 
the  lake,  is  the  river  by  which  we  came.  It,  too, 
has  a  horizon  gate,  and  through  it,  when  its  last 
half-circle  is  complete,  linger  the  feeble  rays  of  the 
parting  sun.  So  they  have  named  this  the  "  River 
of  Coming  Dark,"  and  down  its  still  current  are 
sent  those  to  whom  night  and  cold  no  longer  mat 
ter. 


XXXII. 

AN  OFFERING  TO  THE  SUN. 

"WHICH  way  is  north?"  asked  Gale,  as  we 
looked  down  at  the  huge  compass-like  carving. 

"  All  ways,"  I  said.  "  We  are  at  the  end  of 
South,  here.  The  center  of  that  diagram  is  the 
spot  we  set  out  to  reach.  It  is  the  South  Pole." 

Gale  reflected  on  this  a  moment,  and  then  with 
something  of  the  old  spirit  said : 

"  I'd  like  to  know  how  anybody  is  ever  going  to 
lay  out  an  addition  here !  Latitudes  and  longitudes, 
and  directions,  and  hemispheres,  all  mixed  up,  and 
no  difference  in  east  and  west  fronts,  or  afternoon 
sun."  He  paused  a  moment,  and  seemed  reflect 
ing;  then  he  grew  even  more  like  the  Gale  of 
earlier  days.  "  Say,"  he  added  suddenly,  "  but 
wouldn't  this  temple  make  a  great  hotel,  though! 
Center  of  everything,  and  sun  in  every  window 
once  in  twenty-four  hours.  Do  you  know,  if  it 
wasn't  for  Ferratoni,  I'd  try  to  make  some  sort  of 
a — a  matrimonial  alliance  with  the  Princess,  and  get 
her  interested  in  developing  this  country  and  stir 
ring  things  up.  I'd  pitch  that  jim-crow  electric 
264 


AN  OFFERING  TO  THE  SUN.       265 

apparatus,  that  don't  work,  into  this  lake,  and  I'd 
put  a  light  on  top  of  this  pyramid  that  would  show 
from  here  to  the  snow-line.  Then  I'd  run  an  ele 
vator  up  here,  and  have  trolley  cars  connecting  all 
over,  and  steam  launches  going  up  and  down  these 
rivers."  He  paused  for  breath,  and  then  his  face 
saddened.  "But  what's  the  use,  Nick?"  he  said 
mournfully.  "  How  is  anybody  going  to  do  busi 
ness  here?  Nobody  wants  any  homes  and  firesides, 
or  trolleys,  or  steamboats,  and  if  they  did,  they 
haven't  got  any  money  to  pay  for  anything  with. 
Think  of  it!  Not  a  dollar  in  the  whole  country! 
Not  a  nickel !  Not  a  red  penny !  " 

It  was  as  the  flare  of  the  expiring  candle.  He 
ceased.  The  spell  of  the  country  once  more  lay 
upon  him.  The  ways  of  progress  such  as  he  had 
known  seemed  as  far  off  and  forgotten  as  the  cold 
northern  pole  beneath  us. 

Mr.  Sturritt  looked  sad,  too,  and  shook  his  head 
silently.  There  seemed  no  need  of  his  food  prepa 
rations  in  a  land  where  people  never  journeyed  afar, 
and  had  ample  time  to  consume  the  ample  stores 
so  lavishly  provided  by  nature,  and  in  such  uncon- 
densed  forms.  Like  the  rest  of  us,  he  would  forget, 
and  let  the  world  go  by. 

We  loitered  back  to  the  edge  of  the  terrace  and 
looked  down.  Far  below,  the  Princess  and  her  court 
were  just  arriving.  We  watched  them  alight  from 


266         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

their  barges  and  ascend  the  stairway  that  led  to  the 
first  terrace.  They  were  a  fair  throng,  and  the  sight 
from  above  was  beautiful  in  the  extreme.  In  front 
there  came  a  trocp  of  singing  children  with  gar 
lands  of  flowers.  Just  behind  these  walked  the 
Princess  in  her  robe  of  state,  and  by  her  side,  our 
companion,  Ferratoni,  her  guest  of  honor.  After 
them  followeJ  the  people  of  the  court,  young  men 
and  maids — all  laden  with  great  floral  bonds,  fes 
tooned  from  one  couple  to  the  next  in  a  mighty 
double  chain.  There  was  no  solemnity.  All  were 
chanting  gaily.  As  they  reached  the  top  of  each 
stairway,  they  paused  to  face  the  sun  and  unite  in 
a  jubilant  chorus.  Truly,  I  thought,  theirs  is  a  re 
ligion  of  joy  and  good-will. 

"  I'm  sorry,  now,  we  didn't  wait  and  come  up 
with  the  crowd,"  said  Gale.  "  Still,  we  get  a  better 
view  by  not  being  in  it.  But  will  you  just  look  at 
Tony !  Talk  about  catching  on !  Why,  if  I  didn't 
know  better,  I'd  say  this  was  a  wedding  perform 
ance  and  that  Tony  had  the  star  part." 

They  were  near  enough  now  for  us  to  see  that 
Ferratoni's  face  was  lighted  with  smiles,  and  that 
the  Princess,  too,  looked  very  happy. 

"  It  is  hardly  that,  yet,"  I  said,  "  but  I  think  we 
need  not  be  surprised  at  anything.  Though  such 
an  alliance,  I  suppose,  would  require  some  special 
dispensation  or  sanction  of  the  sun." 


AN  OFFERING  TO  THE  SUN.       267 

"  Yes,"  assented  Gale,  "  and,  by  the  way,  Nick, 
who  is  that  little  yellow-haired  girl  that  is  setting 
up  to  you — the  one  that  sings  a  good  deal  and  plays 
on  that  little  bandolin  arrangement — and  that  other 
one,  Bill,  that  dark-eyed  one  who  walks  about  with 
you  so  much,  holding  hands,  and  wondering  how 
old  you  could  live  to  be,  if  you  really  tried?  " 

I  made  no  immediate  reply,  and  Mr.  Sturritt 
showed  languid  confusion. 

"  I — that  is "  he  began,  "  she — she  is " 

"  I  think,"  I  interposed,  "  she  is  a  cousin  to  that 
very  delightful  little  auburn-haired  creature,  who 
sits  all  day  at  the  feet  of  our  Admiral,  listening  to 
"  How  Doth  the  Little  Busy  Bee"  and  "  Twinkle, 
Twinkle,  Little  Star." 

"  Nick,"  said  Gale,  "  if  anything  should  happen 
that  we  ever  did  get  out  of  this  snap,  and  back  to 
— to  people — the  yacht,  and  Biff,  and  Johnnie,  T 
mean — I  suppose  it  would  be  just  as  well  not  to 
mention  some  of  the  things  that  happen  down  here. 
They  wouldn't  quite  understand  the  conditions,  you 
see — the — the  atmosphere,  as  the  artists  say — the 
poetry  of  it,  you  know.  You  wouldn't  want  to  say 
anything,  yourself " 

He  was  interrupted  at  this  point  by  the  arrival 
on  our  terrace  of  the  singing  children.  I  had  no 
opportunity  to  reply,  but  I  did  not  at  once  join  very 
heartily  in  the  ceremonies. 


268        THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

The  latter  were  very  simple,  and  consisted  of 
little  more  than  a  continuance  of  the  marching  and 
singing,  with  a  pause  at  short  intervals  to  shout 
a  great  paean  to  their  divinity.  Then  there  ensued 
a  wonderfully  graceful  dance,  and  after  this  a  mar 
vellous  floral  decoration  of  the  entire  temple,  within 
and  without.  In  this  the  Princess  took  but  a  brief 
initiatory  part,  and  presently,  when  the  upper  ter 
race  was  finished,  most  of  her  followers  descended 
to  the  work  below,  leaving  with  her  only  her  ladies- 
in-waiting,  a  few  gentlemen  of  the  court,  and  our 
selves. 

We  reclined  among  the  flowers,  and  for  a  time 
there  was  a  silence,  broken  only  by  the  distant  sing 
ing  voices  of  those  still  busy  below.  It  seemed  a 
sort  of  benediction  after  the  offering,  and  then  for 
some  reason  there  came  upon  me  a  feeling  like  that 
when  at  the  opera  the  curtain  descends  and  the 
chorus  dies  into  the  distance;  the  feeling  that  some 
thing  is  over  and  completed — that  something  new 
and  different  is  about  to  begin. 


XXXIII. 

THE  TOUCH  OF  LIFE. 

THE  music  below  grew  fainter  and  died.  Those 
with  us  upon  the  terrace  remained  silent,  awaiting 
the  pleasure  of  the  Princess.  When  she  spoke  at 
last  it  was  to  Ferratoni,  and  then  I  noticed  for  the 
first  time  that  he  had  brought,  or  caused  to  be 
brought,  a  little  case  which  I  recognized  as  one  of 
his  telephones.  We  had  known  that  for  the  enter 
tainment  of  the  Princess  he  had  been  experimenting 
with  his  materials,  and  we  realized  that  he  was  about 
to  demonstrate  from  the  elevation  of  the  temple 
the  practicability  of  his  invention.  Remember 
ing  what  we  had  been  told  of  the  national  prejudice 
against  mechanical  progress,  I  momentarily  doubted 
the  wisdom  of  such  an  exhibition,  but  reflected  that 
with  the  approval  of  the  Princess  the  result  could 
hardly  be  otherwise  than  pleasant.  Those  who  re 
mained  with  us  seemed  also  to  encourage  the  ex 
periment,  and  showed  some  interest  as  to  the  out 
come. 

They  were  those  of  the  inner  household.    Among 

269 


270         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

them  were  the  three  to  whom  Chauncey  Gale.  Mr. 
Sturritt  and  myself  had  paid  some  slight  social  at 
tention  (the  merest  courtesies,  indeed,  as  courtesies 
go  in  that  land)  since  our  arrival  in  the  Lilied  Hills. 

Ferratoni  now  arranged  the  telephone  apparatus 
and  adjusted  it  carefully,  explaining  to  us,  mean 
time,  that  he  had  constructed  another  which  he  had 
left  at  the  palace  below,  whence  a  little  party  of 
those  returning  would  presently  communicate  with 
us.  When  all  was  ready,  he  touched  the  annun 
ciator  bell,  but  there  came  no  response.  Evidently 
those  who  were  to  answer  had  not  yet  reached  the 
palace.  We  waited  a  little  in  expectant  silence — 
then  once  more  he  touched  the  bell.  Still  no  re 
sponse — our  friends  at  court  were  proceeding  but 
leisurely,  as  was  their  wont.  Indeed  a  mental  com 
munication  just  then  established  the  fact  that  they 
had  paused  for  refreshments  in  the  palace  gardens. 
I  thought  Ferratoni  looked  a  little  annoyed.  He 
was  anxious,  I  suppose,  to  please  the  Princess, 
though  the  latter  showed  no  impatience.  Refresh 
ments  and  pausing  were  the  peaceful  characteristics 
of  her  gentle  race. 

While  we  waited  I  found  myself  recalling  some  of 
the  former  times  when  the  little  telephone  had 
brought  messages  from  the  unseen.  I  recalled  the 
first  trial,  when  we  were  frozen  in  the  pack,  and 
Edith  Gale  and  I  had  carried  it  to  the  top  of  the 


THE  TOUCH  OF  LIFE.  271 

lonely  berg,  and  so  listened  to  Ferratoni's  mysteri 
ous  message  from  the  ship — the  message  all  now 
could  understand.  I  remembered,  too,  the  chill 
waiting  on  the  top  of  the  Pacemaker  when  voices 
from  the  Billowcrest  heartened  me  and  gave  me 
comfort  and  hope.  And  then  there  came  the  recol 
lection  of  the  weary  days  when,  toiling  down  the 
great  white  way,  we  had  been  cheered  and  encour 
aged  by  the  voices  of  those  behind,  and  of  the  deso 
late  nights  when  I  had  found  peace  and  repose  in 
the  soothing  influence  of  "  Old  Brown  Cows." 

Recalling  these  things  dreamily,  I  was  almost  as 
much  startled  as  the  listless  ones  about  us,  when  sud 
denly  on  the  little  telephone  in  our  midst  there  came 
a  sharp  returning  ring.  Not  a  timid  and  hesitating 
signal,  as  from  one  unused  and  half  afraid,  but  em 
phatic,  eager  and  prolonged.  There  was  something 
about  it  that  thrilled  me,  and  I  saw  Chauncey  Gale 
suddenly  sit  upright.  Ferratoni,  however,  quickly 
handed  the  transmitter  to  the  Princess,  and  held 
the  receiver  to  her  ear.  But  as  she  listened  there 
came  into  her  face  only  a  strange,  puzzled  expres 
sion,  and  she  did  not  answer.  Instead,  she  returned 
the  transmitter  to  Ferratoni,  who  now  held  the  re 
ceiver  to  his  own  ear.  For  a  moment  only,  then 
hastily  turning,  and  with  eager,  outstretched  hands 
he  held  the  telephone  complete  toward  Chauncey 
Gale  and  me! 


272         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

We  grabbed  for  it  as  children  scramble  for  a  toy. 
It  was  an  unseemly  display  to  those  serene  ones 
about  us,  and  in  a  brief  instant  must  have  damaged 
their  good  opinion  of  us,  and  their  regard.  We  did 
not  think  of  that,  and  we  did  not  care.  We  knew 
that  in  that  telephone  were  voices  for  us  only — 
voices  long  silent  to  us — at  times  almost  forgotten, 
— but  that  now,  from  far  across  the  snowy  wastes 
and  scented  fields,  were  calling  us  to  awake,  and 
remember,  and  reply. 

I  seized  the  receiver.  Gale,  who  had  managed 
to  get  hold  of  the  transmitter,  commenced  shouting 
in  it. 

"Hello!  Hello,  Johnnie!  Hello!  Hello!  Why 
don't  you  answer?  "  Then,  suddenly  realizing  that  I 
held  the  receiver,  he  snatched  it  to  his  own  ear,  but 
not  before  I  had  caught  a  few  brief  joyous  words  in 
the  voice  of  Edith  Gale. 

"  Yes,  it's  us !  "  he  called  frantically.  "  All  right, 
yes! — Yes,  as  well  and  happy  as — that  is,  of 
course  we're  awful  homesick ! — I  mean  not  suffering 
any. — Yes,  warm,  and  fine  country! — Oh,  yes,  nice 
people! — Girls?  Oh,  yes. — N — no,  I  don't  think 
you'd  think  so — some  people  might,  but  we  don't. 
Matter  of  taste,  you  know. — How's  the  ship? — 
That's  good. — Biff,  too? — What?  Oh,  ice  out  of 
the  bay.  Bully ! — No— it  didn't  work  till  just  now. 
Too  low  down. — Why,  on  top  of  the  South  Pole. — 


THE  TOUCH  OF  LIFE.  273 

Ha,  ha,  yes. — No.  Temple  of  worship. — Yes,  high ! 
High  as  Washington  monument! — Why  didn't  we 
try  it  before? — Why,  we — that  is — we've  been  busy 
— very  busy! — Doing?  Us?  Oh,  why,  we've  been 
— that  is — we — we've  been  studying  habits — and 
customs — customs  of  the  people. — Yes,  interesting. 
—Yes." 

I  had  been  so  absorbed  in  Gale's  one-sided  dia 
logue  that  I  had  forgotten  the  presence  of  those 
about  us.  He  ceased  speaking  now,  for  a  moment, 
evidently  listening  to  a  lengthier  communication. 
Recalling  myself,  I  glanced  about  at  the  others, 
wondering  how  much  or  how  little  of  it  they  had 
comprehended.  Probably  very  little,  yet  the  effect 
upon  them  had  been  startling.  They  had  witnessed 
our  sudden  transformation  from  people  not  greatly 
different  to  themselves  into  what  must  have  appeared 
to  them  unholy  barbarians — wild  untamed  savages, 
awakened  to  a  fierce  and  to  them  brutal  frenzy  by 
the  unseen  electric  summons.  In  their  faces  was  a 
horror  and  condemnation  never  before  written  there. 
An  awakening,  indeed,  had  followed  the  galvanic 
touch.  Gale,  all  unconscious  of  this,  now  broke 
loose  again. 

"  No,  we  haven't  done  anything  yet  in  that  line. 
They  don't  need  any  missionary  work  here,  or 
homes,  but  they  need  everything  else.  I  was  just 
telling  Nick  a  scheme  a  while  ago.  We  felt  a  little 


274         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WA  Y. 

discouraged,  then,  because  we  couldn't  get  word 
from  the  ship,  but  I'm  waked  up  now,  and  we'll 
make  things  hum.  We'll  get  franchises  from  the 
government  for  electric  lights  and  trolley  lines,  and 
steamboat  traffic,  and  we'll  build  some  factories,  and 
I'll  put  a  head-light  on  this  temple,  and  an  elevator 
inside,  and  we'll  lay  out  additions  in  all  directions. 
Vacant  property  here  as  far  as  you  can  see,  and  just 
going  to  waste.  Of  course  we'll  have  to  fix  up 
some  easy  way  to  get  people  over  the  ice-wall,  and 
run  sledge  trains  over  the  snow  between  here  and 
Bottle  Bay,  like  they  do  in  the  Klondike.  It  may 
take  a  year  or  two  to  get  the  place  opened  up,  but 
we  can  do  it,  and  when  we  do,  it'll  be  the  greatest 
spot  on  earth.  We  didn't  know  just  how  we  were 
going  to  get  out  of  here  before,  though  we  haven't 
worried  any,  but  now  you  and  Biff  can  take  the 
yacht  back  to  New  York  and  make  up  a  big  expedi 
tion.  You'll  have  to  bring  a  lot  of  stuff  we  didn't 
have  this  time,  and  a  lot  of  money — small  money — 
silver  change,  and  nickels.  These  jays  haven't  got 
any,  and  don't  know  what  it  is,  but  it  won't  take  'em 
long  to  find  out  when  they  find  they  can  get  it  for 
some  of  their  stuff  and  give  it  back  for  trolley  rides. 
Nick  and  I'll  just  camp  right  up  here  on  this  temple, 

and  we'll  plan  the  whole  thing,  so 

But  Ferratoni,  who  had  risen,  at  this  point  laid 
his  hand  on  Gale's  arm.     I  did  not  hear  what  he 


THE  TOUCH  OF  LIFE.  275 

whispered,  but  Gale  suddenly  handed  me  the  ap 
paratus,  and  they  drew  apart.  I  was  anxious  to 
talk  with  Edith,  but  I  had  been  taking  note  of  those 
about  us,  and  I  had  rather  more  anxiety  just  then 
concerning  developments  close  at  hand.  Gale  and 
Ferratoni  stood  before  the  Princess  and  the  others 
assembled  near.  The  Princess  began  speaking  and 
Ferratoni  translated  to  Gale,  whose  knowledge  of 
the  Antarctic  converse  was  an  uncertain  quantity. 
Mr.  Sturritt  and  I  drew  into  the  circle  to  listen. 
Perhaps  not  for  a  thousand  years  had  there  been 
such  a  turbulence  of  spirit  in  the  Land  of  the  Sloping 
Sun. 

The  Princess  and  the  others,  Ferratoni  said,  had 
been  able  to  understand,  through  him,  something  of 
Mr.  Gale's  plans,  as  briefly  outlined  to  his  daughter. 
As  a  people  they  were  opposed  to  such  innovations, 
and  they  earnestly  deprecated  the  state  of  mind  and 
sudden  change  of  attitude  occasioned  in  us  by  the 
renewal  of  the  telephone  connection  with  our  vessel 
and  friends. 

They  reasoned,  he  said,  that  if  a  very  small 
thing  like  the  telephone  had  produced  upon  us 
results  so  manifest,  and  so  unpleasant  to  behold. 
they  were  sure  that  still  larger  mechanisms — of  the 
size  of  a  trolley  car,  for  instance — would  be  a  na 
tional  calamity,  and  result  only  in  demoralization 
and  ruin.  They  therefore  protested  most  vigor- 


276        THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

ously  against  a  further  pursuit  of  these  schemes,  and 
suggested  that  even  the  telephone  itself  be  instantly 
demolished. 

The  Princess,  personally,  was  not  opposed  to 
any  appliance  that  would  benefit  her  people 
without  destroying  their  lives  or  repose  of  spirit, 
but  the  radical  changes  contemplated  in  the  mind 
of  our  Admiral  were  abhorrent  to  her,  and  she  would 
not  be  responsible  for  our  welfare  or  even  our  per 
sonal  safety  unless  these  plans  were  immediately 
abandoned.  The  matter  of  some  new  means  of  dis 
pelling  the  long  dark  she  would  be  glad  to  consider. 
Even  some  easier  method  of  ascending  the  temple 
might 

But  this  gave  Gale  an  opportunity  to  present  his 
case,  which  he  did  with  considerable  force.  He 
made  an  address  in  favor  of  mechanical  progress, 
well  worthy  of  recording  here  if  I  could  remember 
it.  Ferratoni  translated  rapidly,  and  I  could  see 
that  the  Princess  and  her  companion  were  somewhat 
impressed.  As  had  been  shown  by  her  attempted  in 
vention  for  lighting,  she  was  really  more  inclined  to 
such  advancement  than  most  of  her  race,  while  those 
about  her  were  the  staunchest  of  her  followers.  She 
made  little  reply,  however,  to  Gale's  speech,  though 
her  general  attitude  suggested  that  the  matter  in  it 
might  be  taken  under  advisement.  The  telephone 
was  not  immediately  destroyed,  and  I  was  now  per- 


THE  TOUCH  OF  LIFE.  277 

mitted  to  have  a  brief  and  quiet  conversation  with 
Edith  Gale — a  conversation  which  the  reader's  imag 
ination  will  best  supply. 

At  the  end  I  had  spoken  of  the  rare  beauty  and 
qualities  of  the  Princess  and  how  we  were  trying  to 
convert  her  to  our  way  of  thinking. 

"  Is  she  really  so  beautiful  ?  And  are  the  others 
too?  Daddy  thought  I  wouldn't  care  for  them '' 

"  Um — did  he?  Oh,  but  you'd  love  the  Princess. 
She  is  so  beautiful  and  so — so  gentle " 

A  pause,  then — 

"  Nicholas  I— Hello!    Nicholas! " 

"  Yes," 

"  I  wouldn't  try  to  convert  the  Princess,  if  I  were 
you !  " 

As  we  prepared  to  descend  to  the  waiting  barges, 
Gale  was  inclined  to  be  in  good  spirits  over  the 
prospect  ahead.  But  I  noticed  that  the  Princess 
seemed  more  disquieted  than  I  had  ever  seen  her, 
and  that  Ferratoni,  and  the  others,  looked  somber 
and  unhappy. 

And  now,  too,  for  the  first  time  since  our  arrival, 
we  saw  that  a  storm-cloud  had  gathered  upon  the 
horizon — a  blackness  that  rose  swiftly  and  ex 
tinguished  the  sun. 

Quick  lightning  parted  it  here  and  there  and  the 
roll  of  distant  thunder  came  ominously.  A  porten 
tous  dark  settled  on  the  lands  below  us,  and  the 


578        THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

waters  of  the  lake  became  spectral.  A  few  drops  of 
rain  fell. 

A  canopy  was  brought  from  the  temple  and  lifted 
above  the  Princess.  Silence  came  upon  us.  The 
smile  faded  from  Gale's  features,  and  Mr.  Stur- 
ritt's  face  grew  pale  and  anxious. 

For  myself,  I  had  the  feeling  of  being  a  part  of 
some  weird  half-waking  dream,  in  which  fact  and 
fantastic  imagery  mingled  with  a  sense  of  heavy 
foreboding.  Only  the  recent  words  of  Edith  Gale 
lingered  as  a  ray  from  some  far-off  beacon. 


XXXIV. 

THE  PARDON  OF  LOVE. 

IN  the  Antarctic  land,  news  is  the  one  thing  that 
travels  fast.  Thought  still  moves  with  comparative 
quickness  there,  and  whatever  lies  in  the  mind  of 
one  is  as  though  put  on  a  bulletin  board,  to  become 
the  property  of  all. 

Through  the  darkness  of  the  approaching  storm 
we  saw  before  we  reached  the  foot  of  the  stairway 
the  gathering  of  many  torches  on  the  shore  beyond. 
Evidently  there  was  some  unusual  movement  abroad 
which  could  not  be  wholly  due  to  the  coming 
tempest.  In  the  gathering  dusk  I  saw  now  that  the 
faces  of  those  about  us  were  filled  with  deep  and 
increasing  concern.  At  the  water's  edge  Ferratoni 
turned  to  us  and  said  hurriedly  : 

"  The  people  are  much  aroused  at  the  plans  we 
have  discussed  on  the  temple.  They  believe  the  inno 
vations  proposed  would  destroy  their  present  mode 
of  life  and  result  in  their  downfall  as  a  race.  They 
believe,  too,  that  the  Sun  has  darkened  in  anger, 
and  they  have  joined  it  yonder  in  a  great  protest 

against  us.     The  Princess  considers  it  unsafe  that 

279 


280         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

we  should  cross  over  until  she  has  pacified  them 
with  her  presence.  She  asks  that  we  keep  here  the 
smaller  barge,  and  remain  for  the  present  in  the 
sanctity  of  the  temple,  where  harm  may  not  befall 
us.  She  will  communicate  with  me  mentally,  and 
inform  us  as  to  further  advisabilities." 

We  gazed  across  at  the  torches  that  were  now 
crowding  to  the  water's  edge.  Gale  had  said  that 
we  would  make  things  hum,  but  he  had  not  counted 
on  the  humming  beginning  with  such  promptness. 
A  medley  of  mingled  voices  and  angry  shouts  was 
borne  to  us  by  the  cool  air  that  preceded  the  coming 
storm.  We  could  see  faces  distorted  by  the  torch- 
flare  and  strange  rage  until  they  had  lost  all  sem 
blance  to  those  of  the  gentle  people  we  had  known. 
The  old  savagery  of  the  benighted  and  unsceptred 
race  that  two  thousand  years  before  had  been  eager 
to  destroy  the  gentle  prophet  risen  among  them,  and 
that  again  long  afterwards  had  sought  the  life  of 
him  who  would  harness  the  winds  to  serve  them. 
was  once  more  abroad,  and  its  cry  was  for  blood. 

"  But  see  here,  Tony,"  protested  Gale.  "  We're 
not  going  to  let  the  Princess  and  these  friends  of 
ours  go  over  into  that  mob.  I  stirred  up  this  racket, 
and  I'll  see  it  through.  Any  one  of  us  can  handle 
a  dozen  of  those  sissies.  They  might  make  a  set 
at  their  own  people,  but  four  fellows  like  us  can 
wade  through  them  like  a  cyclone." 


THE  PARDON  OF  LOVE.          281 

"  Not  as  they  are  now,"  said  Ferratoni.  '  They 
are  not  the  people  we  have  known.  As  for  the 
Princess,  she  is  holy — they  will  not  harm  her — and 
these  others  have  in  no  way  offended.  It  is  wiser 
to  accept  the  advice  of  the  Princess  and  remain  here. 
We  should  only  make  her  task  harder  by  going." 

I  had  been  ready  to  join  with  Gale  in  facing  the 
people  beyond  the  lake,  but  I  realized  the  wisdom 
of  Ferratoni' s  words  and  said  nothing.  Mr.  Stur- 
ritt  too  was  silent,  though  I  could  see  that,  as  usual, 
he  was  "  with  the  Admiral,"  in  whatever  the  latter 
might  undertake  or  agree  upon. 

The  Princess  and  the  others  now  embarked  with 
out  further  delay.  The  storm  overhead  was  almost 
upon  us.  Lightning  was  more  frequent,  and  the 
thunder  rolling  nearer.  Large  drops  of  rain  were 
already  falling. 

The  Princess  was  first  to  enter  her  barge.  As 
she  did  so,  she  turned  and  took  both  of  Ferratoni's 
hands.  Whereupon  the  three  maidens  to  whom  we 
others  had  paid  some  slight  attention,  likewise 
turned,  and  each  followed  her  royal  example. 
Through  the  mirk  a  gentle  face  for  a  brief  instant 
looked  up  into  mine.  Then  there  came  a  flash  of 
lightning  that  turned  into  an  aureola  her  silken  yel 
low  hair.  Our  attentions  had  been  the  merest 
courtesies,  as  I  have  said,  but  in  the  instant  of  black 
ness  that  followed  I  leaned  hastily  down,  and 


282         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

What  the  others  did  I  do  not  know;  I  could  not 
see  well  in  the  darkness. 

We  watched  them  until  they  reached  the  other 
side.  The  torches  crowded  thickly  to  the  landing  as 
the  barge  approached,  and  a  wave  of  turbulent 
voices  was  borne  across  to  us.  We  saw  the  torches 
go  swaying  to  the  palace,  and  a  flash  of  lightning 
showed  them  crowding  through  the  gates — the 
canopy  of  the  Princess  borne  ahead.  Then  we  re 
tired  within  the  temple,  for  the  storm  broke  heavily. 

It  was  dark  in  there,  and  the  air  was  heavy  with 
the  odor  of  mingled  flowers.  We  groped  about 
until  we  found  something  that  had  steps  and  cush 
ions  on  it,  where  we  sat  down.  We  believed  it  to 
be  the  great  altar  of  the  sun,  which  we  had  been 
told  was  so  placed  in  the  center  of  the  temple  that 
from  every  point  the  sun's  rays  touched  it,  and  so 
lingered  throughout  the  long  day.  It  was  probably 
about  the  safest  spot  we  could  find  for  the  present. 
Then  we  waited,  while  the  thunder  roared  and 
crashed  and  the  rain  outside  came  down. 

"  Say,"  whispered  Gale,  "  but  haven't  I  set  them 
swarming!  Oh,  Lord — what's  a  bull  without 
a  bee-hive! " 

Ferratoni  left  us  presently  and  went  to  the  door 
way,  perhaps  for  a  better  mental  current.  We  fol 
lowed  him,  but  all  was  dark  beyond  the  lake.  We 
presently  left  him  there  and  returned  to  our  comfort 


THE  PARDON  OF  LO  VE.  283 

within.  The  thunder  gradually  died  and  the  rain 
slackened,  though  the  darkness  did  not  pass.  Sud 
denly  Ferratoni  hurried  back  to  us. 

They  were  coming,  he  said.  They  had  refused 
to  respect  the  desires  of  the  Princess,  or  even  the 
sanctity  of  the  temple.  They  considered  that  we 
had  violated  their  hospitality,  and  they  demanded 
our  lives.  They  had  not  put  anybody  to  death  in 
that  country  for  five  hundred  years,  but  they  were 
ready  to  do  so  now,  and  to  begin  with  us.  They 
had  condemned  all  new  mechanisms,  and  even  the 
invention  of  the  Princess  and  her  brother — the  dark- 
dispeller — they  were  at  this  moment  preparing  to 
throw  into  the  lake.  The  telephones  they  had  des 
troyed,  utterly. 

"  Don't  blame  'em  much  for  pitching  that  lighting 
machine  into  the  lake,"  muttered  Gale,  "  I  wanted 
to  do  that,  myself.  But  how  about  us?  Are  we 
going  to  let  'em  pitch  us  in?  " 

"  There  are  two  chances,"  replied  Ferratoni 
One  is  immediate  flight  to  the  court  of  the  Prince, 
\vho  will  endeavor  to  give  protection  and  assistance. 
The  other  is  safety,  here.  It  is  pardon — the  Pardon 
of  Love." 

"  The  what?  "  asked  Gale.  "  Oh,  yes,  I  remember, 
now.  The  old  law  that — um — yes — who  are 
they?" 

"  The  three,"  said  Ferratoni,  "  the  three  whose 


284         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

hands  were  pressed  in  parting.  They  are  willing 
to  grant  life — and  love.  They  are  coming  even 
now,  with  the  others.  You  must  decide — and 
quickly !  " 

It  had  grown  very  still  in  the  temple.  So  still 
that  Gale  said  afterwards  he  could  hear  his  hair 
falling  out.  It  was  probably  but  a  few  seconds  be 
fore  he  spoke,  though  it  seemed  much  longer. 

"  Nick,"  he  said,  "  we're  up  against  it,  hard.  It's 
marry  or  move;  which  will  you  do?  " 

My  mind  was  a  tumult  and  a  confusion,  but  the 
memory  of  Edith  Gale's  words  became  a  path  of 
light. 

"  Move!  "  I  said,  "  and  with  no  waste  of  time!  " 

"  What  about  you,  Tony  ?  Are  you  in  on  the 
deal,  too?" 

"  I  know  not.  I  am  at  the  will  and  service  of 
the  Princess.  She  has  not  yet  spoken." 

"  And  you,  Bill,  what  do  you  vote  for?  " 

"  I — I — that  is — I'm  with  the  Admiral,  as 
always." 

"  And  the  Admiral  is  for  getting  out  of  here. 
I've  no  fault  to  find  with  the  young  ladies,  but  I've 
got  business  in  Bottle  Bay.  Come!  " 

We  hastened  outside.  It  was  still  dark  and  a 
second  shower  had  gathered,  though  we  did  not  no 
tice  this  fact.  What  we  did  see  was  that  more 
than  half-way  across  the  strip  of  water  that  sepa- 


THE  PARDON  OF  LOVE.  285 

rated  us  from  the  shore  there  was  a  crowd  of  torch- 
lit  barges,  and  that  they  were  coming  rapidly.  For 
once  in  their  lives  these  people  had  forgotten,  and 
were  hurrying.  In  front  of  the  others  came  a  small 
er  barge,  driven  by  the  sturdiest  of  their  rowers. 
In  it  sat  the  Lady  of  the  Lilies,  and  the  three  who 
had  pressed  our  hands  at  parting.  Clearly,  there 
was  no  time  to  lose. 

We  made  a  hasty  attempt  to  loosen  our  boat, 
but  fumbled  the  knot  and  lost  time. 

"  Haste,  or  you  will  be  too  late,"  urged  Ferra- 
toni. 

"  Oh,  Lord,"  groaned  Gale,  "  if  we  just  hadn't 
left  our  propeller  boat  down  yonder!  " 

But  at  that  instant  the  knot  untied,  and  we 
tumbled  in.  We  had  no  light  and  we  did  not  be 
lieve  they  could  see  us,  though  they  were  now  very 
near.  Ferratoni  still  lingered  on  the  step,  looking 
at  the  approaching  barges. 

"  Come  on,  Tony,"  urged  Gale,  "  don't  take  any 
chances! " 

But  bending  over  he  caught  our  boat,  and  with 
a  push  sent  us  down  the  tide. 

"  Go."  he  said,  "  I  am  not  coming.  I  wait  the 
will  and  service  of  the  Princess !  " 

Yet  we  hesitated  to  leave  him.  A  heavy  projec 
tion,  or  coping,  extended  from  the  lower  terrace  out 
over  the  water,  and  in  the  blackness  beneath  we 


286         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

drifted  and  waited.  We  could  not  see  Ferratoni 
from  where  we  lay,  but  we  could  watch  the  oncom 
ing  barges  and  were  near  enough  to  get  quickly  into 
the  midst  of  things  in  case  of  violence.  In  the  end 
it  would  almost  certainly  mean  death  to  us  all,  but 
we  felt  that  with  the  serviceable  oars  as  weapons, 
we  could  give  some  previous  account  of  ourselves. 

On  came  the  barges.  The  first  with  the  Princess 
was  presently  at  the  steps,  and  almost  immediately 
the  others.  We  saw  the  Lady  of  the  Lilies  and 
her  three  companions  ascend  hastily  to  where  we 
had  left  Ferratoni.  From  the  other  barges  poured 
a  horde  of  wild-faced  creatures,  curiously  armed 
with  quaint  weapons  of  a  forgotten  age.  We 
waited  until  with  a  fierce  clamor  they  were  rushing 
up  the  stairs,  then  with  a  push  against  the  abutment 
to  which  we  were  clinging,  we  sent  our  boat  up 
nearer,  and  out  where  we  could  see. 

And  now  we  realized  that  Ferratoni  was  no 
longer  where  we  had  left  him,  but  had  retired  within 
the  temple  that  we  might  have  a  better  opportunity 
to  escape  unseen.  The  mob  was  pushing  through 
the  entrance  noisily. 

"  We'll  get  round  to  the  north  door  quick !  "  whis 
pered  Gale.  "  Mebbe  we  can  see  there  what's  going 
on  inside,  and  it'll  be  handier  to  leave  suddenly  if 
we  decide  to." 

By  north,  Gale  meant  the  direction  from  which 


THE  PARDON  OF  LOVE.  287 

we  had  entered  the  country,  and  by  which  we  now 
hoped  to  get  out  of  it.  The  current  ran  strongly 
in  that  direction,  and  a  stroke  of  the  oars  sent  us 
swiftly  along  the  wall.  A  vivid  flash  of  lightning 
as  we  turned  the  corner,  followed  by  quick  thunder, 
told  that  the  second  shower  was  upon  us. 

Just  below  the  temple  we  were  caught  in  a  fierce 
swirl.  For  a  moment  it  well-nigh  swamped  our 
light  craft.  Then  with  scornful  violence  it  flung- 
us  to  the  landing  steps  on  that  side.  We  leaped 
out,  each  with  an  oar,  and  seizing  the  barge  drew 
it  up  a  little  on  the  lower  step,  so  that  it  would  hold, 
without  fastening.  Then  we  hurried  up  the  stair, 
and  crept  cautiously  to  the  entrance. 

From  the  great  depths  within,  there  came  a  gen 
eral  babel  that  seemed  to  increase  as  we  approached. 
By  the  tone  of  it  they  had  not  yet  found  Ferratoni. 
I  believe  now  that  in  the  turbulence  of  an  anger 
heretofore  unknown  to  them,  their  perceptions  must 
have  been  disordered,  that  they  had  become  men 
tally  blind.  But  suddenly,  just  as  we  slipped  into 
the  dark  tunnel-like  entrance,  and  parted  the  heavy 
curtains  beyond,  there  came  a  wild  uproar  as  of 
discovery,  then — silence. 

We  had  been  about  to  rush  in  and  do  what  we 
could  to  aid  our  companion,  but  Gale,  who  was 
ahead  and  got  the  first  glimpse  beyond  the  curtain, 


288         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

stopped  us.  Then  he  drew  the  curtain  still  farther 
aside,  and  we  all  looked  in. 

About  the  center  of  the  vast  depths,  the  crowded 
torches  were  swaying.  They  made  a  lurid  circle, 
beyond  which  the  symboled  and  draped  walls  melted 
into  shadows  and  blackness.  But  in  the  midst  of 
the  torches  rose  the  great  central  altar,  still  be 
strewn  with  the  flowers  of  their  recent  ceremonial. 
About  its  base  the  angry  ones  had  gathered,  while 
above  them,  before  the  very  shrine  of  the  Sun  itself, 
there  stood  two  of  the  fairest  creatures  under  heaven 
— our  own  beautiful  Ferratoni,  and  at  his  side,  her 
arms  laid  about  his  shoulders,  the  Princess  of  the 
Lilied  Hills. 

Chauncey  Gale  insists  that  grouped  on  a  lower 
step  of  the  altar,  bowed  like  the  children  of  Niobe, 
were  those  who  would  have  granted  also  to  us  the 
sacred  Pardon  of  Love.  But  I  did  not  see  them, 
nor  did  Mr.  Sturritt,  and  I  do  not  believe  Gale  did, 
either.  Indeed,  we  had  eyes  only  for  those  other 
two.  Like  the  populace,  spellbound  and  speechless, 
forgetting  our  own  existence,  we  stood  and  gaped 
at  them.  Gale  was  first  to  recall  himself. 

"  Tableau !  "  he  said,  "  show's  over !  Let's  ring 
down  the  curtain,  now,  and  get  out  of  here,  quick !  " 

Yet  we  lingered  for  one  final  look.  And  lo,  all 
at  once,  from  some  high  oriel  window,  there  fell 
upon  them  a  long  golden  bar  of  the  returning  sun- 


Tin-:   PARDON  or  LOVE. 

••There  fell  upon  them  a  long  golden  bar  of  the  returning  sunlight." 

—Page  288. 


THE  PARDON  OF  LOVE.          289 

light.  And  the  silence  about  them  awakened  to  a 
wondering  murmur  that  grew  to  a  low  chant,  then 
quickly  increased  in  volume,  bursting  at  last  into  a 
mighty  anthem  which  we  recognized  as  their  mar 
riage  chorus. 

"Come!  Come!"  insisted  Gale.  "  That  isn't 
for  us.  The  orchestra  is  playing  us  out.  Let's 
take  the  hint  and  go  before  they  change  their  minds. 
Tisn't  our  wedding,  and  we  don't  want  it  to  be 
our  funeral,  either." 

Reluctantly  we  dropped  the  curtains  then,  and 
hastened  down  the  steps.  It  was  still  raining 
wispily,  but  the  sun  was  rifting  through,  and  a  won 
derful  rainbow  arched  the  black  sky  opposite.  We 
pushed  off  our  boat,  and  bent  to  the  oars  with  all 
our  strength,  sending  the  light  barge  swiftly  down 
the  tide  that  between  the  Lilied  Hills,  through  the 
Purple  Fields,  and  under  the  Plains  of  White  found 
its  way  at  last  to  the  far-off  Billowcrest — and  home. 
16 


XXXV. 

DOWN  THE  RIVER  OF  COMING  DARK. 

WE  were  not  pursued,  or,  if  we  were,  we  saw 
nothing  of  our  pursuers.  When  the  storm  had  all 
cleared  away,  we  saw  here  and  there  people  along 
the  shore,  but  they  did  not  offer  to  interfere  with 
our  flight.  On  the  contrary,  they  seemed  rather  in 
terested,  and  even  pleased  at  our  rate  of  speed.  We 
believed  that  with  the  wedding  ceremony  of  the 
Princess  and  Ferratoni  the  better  nature  of  the  race 
once  more  got  the  upper  hand,  and  that  they  were 
satisfied  to  know  that  we  were  getting  out  of  the 
country  as  rapidly  as  our  skill  and  muscular  develop 
ment  would  permit. 

Some  mental  communication  to  this  effect  must 
have  passed  between  the  court  of  the  Lily  Princess 
and  that  of  her  brother,  the  Prince  of  the  Purple 
Fields,  for  when  some  twenty  hours  later  (we  had 
wound  our  watches  now)  we  reached  his  palace, 
we  found  the  Prince  and  his  court  assembled  at  the 

outer  entrance,  and  our  own  beautiful  propeller  boat 
290 


THE  RIVER  OF  COMING  DARK.     291 

waiting  in  readiness  for  the  immediate  continuance 
of  our  journey. 

Noticing  the  assembly  as  we  came  on  we  had 
some  doubts  as  to  their  intentions,  but  we  did  not 
hesitate,  and  we  found  the  Prince  and  those  about 
him  gentle  and  kindly  as  before.  Their  willingness 
that  we  should  continue  our  journey,  however,  was 
quite  apparent,  and  as  our  boat  contained  all  our 
belongings  and  had  been  fully  provisioned  by  the 
Prince's  household,  there  was  no  excuse  for  delay. 

Indeed,  we  were  as  eager  to  get  out  of  their  hal 
cyon  vale  as  they  were  to  have  us,  and  we  did  not 
remain  longer  in  it  than  it  took  for  us  to  climb  from 
one  boat  into  the  other  and  touch  the  button  that 
started  the  propeller.  The  battery  had  not  failed, 
and  aided  by  the  tide  we  were  off  with  a  speed  that 
seemed  to  us  like  that  of  a  torpedo  boat.  We  turned 
then  and  waved  our  hands  and  called  good-byes  to 
the  gentle  Prince  and  those  of  his  pleasant  palace. 

And  so  adieu  to  the  land  of  my  fancy — my  isle 
of  lost  argosies  and  forgotten  songs.  One  among 
us  had  found  there  the  ideal  he  sought — life's  per 
fect  chord.  For  the  others — the  lives  we  had  lived 
and  the  lives  of  those  who  had  lived  before  us,  had 
not  fitted  us  for  that  Port  of  Dreams. 

We  would  return  to  our  own.  When  or  by 
what  means  we  did  not  know — the  way  ahead 
seemed  long  and  weary — but  come  what  might,  we 


292         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

had  resolved  to  reach  once  more  those  who  waited 
beyond  the  cold  desolation  between,  and  with  them 
to  go  back  to  the  only  life  we  knew,  in  a  world  of 
growth  and  change. 


XXXVI. 

THE  "  PASSAGE  OF  THE  DEAD." 

WE  made  time,  now.  We  were  not  creeping  up 
stream,  delayed  by  slow-moving  barges.  We  were 
going  with  the  tide  and  all  handicaps  had  been  re 
moved.  In  less  than  thirty  hours,  including  all 
stops,  we  had  covered  the  distance  that  it  had  taken 
us  days  to  ascend,  and  camped  once  more  in  the 
violet  fields  above  the  rapids.  I  had  taken  an  obser 
vation  at  this  point,  and  by  taking  another  now  I 
was  able  from  the  position  of  the  sun  and  a  refer 
ence  to  my  charts  to  establish  the  date  and,  approxi 
mately,  the  hour.  My  calculation  showed  that  it 
was  November  the  Ninth.  Seven  weeks  had 
elapsed  since  our  departure  from  the  Billowcrest. 
It  seemed  as  many  ages. 

The  purple  flowers  that  had  welcomed  us  to  the 
enchanted  land  were  withered,  but  their  leaves  re 
mained,  and  in  every  direction  showed  as  a  level 
carpet  of  green.  Reaching  the  rapids  we  once  more 
removed  our  boat  from  the  water.  The  snow  on 
the  hillside  was  gone,  but  we  trundled  our  craft 
down  over  the  bare  rock  and  shale  without  serious 

293 


294        THE  GREA  T  WHITE  WA  Y. 

difficulty,  and  launched  it  again  in  the  swift  current 
below.  Neither  was  there  any  snow  on  the  barren 
lands  ahead  as  far  as  we  could  see,  and  it  was  not 
until  some  hours  later  that  it  began  to  show  along 
the  banks. 

The  ice,  too,  seemed  entirely  gone  from  the  river, 
but  as  the  snow  deepened  along  the  shores  we  knew 
we  must  ere  long  reach  the  point  where  the  current 
plunged  beneath  the  eternal  barrier  into  that  dark 
some  passage  by  which  so  many  of  the  Antarctic 
dead  had  found  their  way  to  the  Land  of  the  Silent 
Cold. 

The  walls  of  ice  and  snow  on  either  side  of  us 
deepened  rapidly.  Soon  we  were  sweeping  through 
a  chill  canyon  down  whose  glittering  sides  dashed 
crystal  streams  from  the  melting  snow  above.  Here 
and  there  appeared  places  by  which  it  seemed  pos 
sible  to  ascend  to  the  snow  level,  but  no  one  as  yet 
spoke  of  halting.  It  would  mean  the  deserting  of 
our  boat,  which  three  of  us  could  hardly  attempt  to 
push  up  the  homeward  incline,  and  the  bundling 
upon  our  backs  of  such  supplies  and  comforts  as  we 
could  carry,  to  toil  with  them  across  the  drifted 
wastes  that  lay  between  us  and  the  Billowcrest. 
And  at  the  end  of  that  journey — if  we  ever  reached 
the  end — lay  the  huge  perpendicular  wall  down 
which  we  must  still  find  our  way.  In  fact,  neither 
our  prospect  nor  our  surroundings  were  conducive 


THE  "  PASSAGE  OF  THE  DEAD.1'     295 

to  conversation,  and  with  the  increasing  cold,  and 
the  black,  semi-transparent  walls  becoming  rapidly 
loftier,  we  said  not  many  words,  and  these  in  low 
voices,  as  if  we  were  indeed  among  the  dead. 

"  Do  you  suppose  any  of  their  funeral  boats  ever 
get  down  those  rapids  without  being  upset?  "  whis 
pered  Gale,  at  last. 

"  It  is  possible,"  I  said,  "  it  is  only  a  question  of 
avoiding  the  rocks.  No  doubt  many  of  them  do. 
They  are  of  course  sunken  in  the  tunnel  afterwards. 
The  tide  must  fill  it  for  a  good  way  up,  you  know." 

"  Nick,"  said  Gale  suddenly,  "  what  would  you 
think  of  us  trying  to  go  through  that  tunnel?  " 

I  gave  a  great  spasmodic  shudder. 

"  Don't !  I  have  already  thought  of  it,"  I  man 
aged  to  say.  "  It  makes  me  ill !  " 

"  But  I  mean  it,  Nick,"  persisted  Gale.  "  There 
can't  be  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  it. 
and  it's  not  so  much  colder  inside  than  it  is  here. 
We've  got  our  electric  lamp  ahead,  and  we  could 
make  it  in  seven  or  eight  hours,  the  way  we  are 
going.  If  we  can  hit  the  tide  right  we  might  do  it 
as  easy  as  nothing.  If  we  did,  we'd  be  home  for 
dinner.  If  we  didn't — well,  Nick,  to  talk  right  out 
in  meeting,  I  don't  believe  we'd  have  a  bit  more 
chance  of  getting  home  the  other  way,  and  a  good 
deal  longer  misery  before — before  we  quit  trying. 
Ain't  that  so,  now  ?  What  do  you  think,  Bill  ?  " 


296         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

Neither  of  us  could  reply  immediately.  The 
thought  had  lurked  in  the  minds  of  all,  but  when 
put  into  words  it  was  a  bit  staggering.  Yet  the 
prospect  of  being,  within  a  few  hours,  on  the  Billow- 
crest  with  Edith — for  dinner,  as  her  father  put  it — 
started  the  warm  blood  once  more  in  my  veins. 
Perhaps  the  latter  appealed  to  Mr.  Sturritt  also. 

"  I — I — that  is — I'm  with — er — the  Admiral,"  he 
managed  to  say  at  last,  "  as  usual." 

"  And  so  am  I,"  I  agreed.  "  We  can  only  die  once 
wherever  we  are,  and  it  is  better  to  take  the  chances 
where  we  will  go  all  together,  in  a  minute,  and  be 
carried  somewhere  near  our  friends,  than  to  perish 
lingeringly  one  after  another,  away  off  up  yonder 
in  the  snow." 

"  That's  my  ticket!  "  assented  Gale.  "  And  any 
way,  our  boat,  some  of  it,  will  get  through,  with  all 
these  air-tight  compartments,  and  we  can  put  some 
messages  in  each  one,  so  if  any  pieces  are  picked  up 
the  folks  will  know  what  became  of  us." 

We  began  doing  this  at  once,  for  we  felt  that 
the  entrance  to  the  dark  tunnel  could  not  be  far  dis 
tant.  The  walls  on  either  side  were  becoming  very 
high,  and  in  places  drew  inward  alarmingly.  The 
river  was  narrowing  too,  and  was  much  swifter. 

"  We  couldn't  get  up,  now,  if  we  wanted  to,"  com 
mented  Gale,  presently,  "  and  say,  Nick,  there's  a 
bend  just  ahead." 


THE  "  PASSAGE  OF  THE  DEAD."     297 

But  it  was  not  a  bend.  The  walls  bent,  truly,  but 
they  bent  inward,  and  far  above  they  joined.  Be 
low  was  a  depth  of  blackness  into  which  our  eyes 
could  pierce  but  a  little  way. 

It  was  the  "  Passage  of  the  Dead !  " 

We  hastily  slackened  our  speed  to  consider  a  lit 
tle.  Gale  was  making  a  calculation. 

"  It's  now  ten  o'clock,"  he  said,  at  last,  "  and  as 
nearly  as  I  can  figure,  the  tide  ought  to  be  about 
half  down  in  Bottle  Bay.  It'll  be  low  tide  at — say 
one  o'clock,  and  high  tide  again  about  seven,  unless 
the  wind's  blowing  in  there.  That  would  bring 
the  tide  up  earlier.  What  we  want  to  do,  Nick,  is 
not  to  waste  a  minute,  so's  to  get  there  if  we  can 
before  the  tide  closes  the  entrance  again." 

"Why  run  that  risk?"  I  shivered.  "Why  not 
figure  to  get  there  at  low  tide?  " 

"  Because,"  explained  Gale,  "  that  tide  don't  stop 
at  the  opening.  It  comes  on  up — perhaps  a  good 
ways.  When  it's  low  tide  there,  there's  a  high  tide 
somewhere  this  side,  and  coming  this  way.  I  don't 
know  how  fast,  or  how  far  it  would  come, 
or  how  far  up  it  would  close  this  passage.  But 
somewhere  we've  probably  got  to  meet  that  tide, 
and  the  farther  up  this  way  it  is,  the  less  likely  it'll 
be  to  rise  higher  than  the  ceiling." 

I  had  another  spasmodic  seizure  at  this  sugges 
tion.  It  amounted  to  almost  a  chill,  in  fact,  and 


298         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

Gale  considerately  waited  until  I  was  better.     Then 
he  said : 

"  If  we  pass  that  tide  all  right,  we'll  have  a  clear 
run  for  the  entrance,  and  if  I've  counted  the  time 
right  we  ought  to  make  it  before  it  closes.  Of 
course  if  there's  a  head  wind,  or  our  propeller  gives 
out — why " 

"  I  know,"  I  said  hastily,  though  with  some  at 
tempt  at  calmness,  "  we  wouldn't  get  through." 

"  Oh,  yes  we  would,"  said  Gale  cheerfully,  "  we'd 
get  through  all  right,  but  we  wouldn't  be  worth 
picking  up,  afterwards." 

We  were  now  at  the  entrance  of  the  great  tunnel 
The  ceiling  above  was  a  vast  black  arch,  hollowed 
out  by  the  warmer  waters  of  the  river,  during  its 
great  freshets.  At  the  opening  it  was  very  high, 
and  the  span  above  thin  and  crumbling,  and  hung 
with  huge  icicles.  Streams  of  water  were  pouring 
from  it,  and  we  had  barely  passed  beneath  when 
just  behind  there  came  the  crash  of  falling  frag 
ments. 

We  were  nearly  upset  by  the  upheaval  of  water, 
but  were  presently  beyond  the  reach  of  this  danger. 
We  had  turned  on  our  light,  and  it  threw  a  long 
white  radiance  ahead  that  dazzled  back  and  forth, 
rind  up  and  down,  between  ice  and  water  in  a  won 
derful  iridescence.  The  wide  ceiling  lowered  rapidlv 
until  it  was  perhaps  fifteen  feet  above  our  heads  and 


THE  "  PASSAGE  OF  THE  DEAD."     299 

seemed  much  closer.  We  remembered  that  at 
Bottle  Bay  it  was  less  than  ten,  and  the  tides  there 
rose  very  high. 

We  were  running  at  full  speed  and  the  current 
was  swift.  Our  log  showed  that  we  were  making 
twenty  miles  an  hour.  At  this  rate  we  believed  that 
a  little  more  than  seven  hours  would  bring  us 
through.  Perhaps  even  less  than  that.  In  spite  of 
the  vault-like  cold  and  stillness  about  us,  we  grew 
mildly  cheerful. 

"  Nick,"  said  Gale,  "  we're  going  home  in  style. 
What  do  you  suppose  Johnnie  and  Biff  will  say,  if 
they  happen  to  see  us  pop  out  into  Bottle  Bay,  as  if 
we'd  been  shot  out  of  a  gun?  " 

The  prospect  seemed  almost  too  joyful  to  con 
sider. 

Gale,  meantime,  had  opened  one  of  the  compart 
ments,  and  brought  forth  a  small  flask  containing 
what  was  left  of  our  supply  of  brandy.  He  held  it 
up  to  the  light. 

"  Just  about  one  apiece,"  he  commented  cheer 
fully.  "  If  we  get  through  all  right,  we'll  have 
plenty  more.  If  we  don't  we  won't  need  it.  What  is 
hope  without  a  high-ball?  Age  before  beauty,  Bill, 
you  first." 

Mr.  Sturritt  shook  his  head.  I  think  he  seldom 
tasted  liquors. 

"  I — er — I  have  a  few  of  the  brown  lozenges," 


300         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

he  explained.  "  They  are  very  stim — that  is — sus 
taining  during  cold,  as  you  remember." 

"  What's  that  ahead,  Nick  ?  "  Gale  asked  sud 
denly. 

There  was  an  outline  in  the  light  over  our  bow 
that  stopped  all  tendency  to  mirth.  It  was  that  of 
a  canoe,  and  presently  when  we  swept  by  it,  we  got 
a  glimpse  of  a  white,  dead  face  within. 

Silently  Gale  once  more  extended  toward  Mr. 
Sturritt  the  depleted  flask.  This  time  he  did  not 
refuse, 


xxxvn. 

THE  RISING  TIDE. 

IT  was  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when 
we  noticed  that  the  ceiling  seemed  to  be  drawing 
nearer  to  our  heads.  The  change  was  very  gradual 
and  at  first  we  could  not  be  sure.  Then  Gale  said : 

"  It's  getting  closer,  boys — there's  no  doubt  of 
it.  We're  probably  down  to  tide- water,  and  I  be 
lieve  we're  hitting  it  just  about  right — it  can't  fill 
up  along  here." 

We  steered  the  boat  toward  the  side  of  the  pas 
sage  and  examined  the  ice  closely  as  we  passed. 
Then  he  indicated  a  faint  line  about  three  feet  above 
us. 

"There's  where  it  gets  to,  here,"  he  said;  "of 
course  it  gets  higher  farther  down.  If  it  gets  too 
high,  well " 

He  did  not  finish,  and  we  went  on  at  full  speed. 

Lower  and  lower  descended  the  wall  above.  At 
half-past  four  it  was  within  two  feet  of  our  heads, 
when  we  sat  upright,  and  stretching  away  into  the 
blackness  on  either  side  it  seemed  an  irresistible 

301 


302         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

mountain  mass  that  was  to  crush  us  beneath  the 
flood.  We  felt  that  we  were  going  slower,  too,  for 
the  tide  had  opposed  and  checked  the  current. 

At  quarter  of  five  I  was  obliged  to  stoop. 

"  Low  bridge,"  said  Gale,  but  less  than  an  hour 
later  the  situation  lost  its  last  vestige  of  humor,  even 
for  him. 

From  the  bottom  of  the  boat  where  we  were  lying, 
he  called : 

"  Nick,  I  forgot  one  thing.  The  ebb  tide  and  the 
incoming  tide  probably  meet  about  here.  I  think 
we're  goners." 

I  lay  in  the  bow,  which  still  lacked  a  few  inches 
of  touching  the  ice  above.  I  had  my  eyes  lifted  as 
high  as  possible,  looking  ahead.  The  world  weight 
of  ice  was  coming  down — down — the  world  of 
water  rising,  and  steadily  rising  from  below. 
Between,  the  space  was  narrowing  from  fee' 
to  inches,  and  the  line  of  meeting  seemed  just  ahead. 
Once  I  thought  I  saw  there  a  tiny  spark  that  was 
not  of  our  own  light.  Then  it  disappeared,  came 
again,  disappeared — I  could  not  look.  I  felt  already 
that  I  was  being  crushed,  smothered,  drowned. 

The  ice  above  brushed  against  my  hair.  I  low 
ered  my  head  quickly  until  like  the  others  I  lay  full 
length  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat. 

"Gale — Sturritt,"  I  groaned,  "forgive  me!  I 
got  you  into  all  this." 


THE  RISING  TIDE.  303 

Chauncey  Gale's  smothered  voice  was  first  to  an 
swer. 

"  Not  a  word,  Nick !  We  went  into  the  game 
with  our  eyes  open.  Besides,  this  deal  is  mine/' 

And    from   Mr.    Sturritt: 

"  It's— it's  all  right.     I— I'm  with  the  Admiral !  " 

And  now  the  bow  was  touching  and  sliding  on 
the  ice  above.  It  was  several  inches  higher  than  the 
stern,  but  presently  that  touched  also.  We  were 
being  pressed  slowly,  surely  downward.  I  don't 
know  what  the  others  were  doing,  but  I  was  pray 
ing,  hard. 

Lower,  and  still  lower.  Water  splashed  cold 
against  my  face,  and  choked  the  good-by  I  was 
about  to  utter.  Then  came  another  splash,  and  an 
other — then  a  great  cold  stream,  and  then 

A  sharp  grating  above — a  roaring  of  waters  all 
about — a  lifting — a  tossing — and  a  burst  of  some 
thing  that  brought  me  suddenly  upright  to  God's 
daylight,  and  the  fresh  salt  air  of  Bottle  Bay! 

Behind  us,  the  rising  tide  was  roaring  into  the 
opening  of  the  tunnel,  that  was  now  open  and  now 
closed  by  the  billows.  Our  boat  was  more  than  half 
filled  with  water  and  we  were  choking  and  gasp 
ing,  but  above  us  was  blue  sky,  and  before  us,  not 
two  hundred  yards  away,  our  stanch,  our  noble, 
our  beautiful  Billowcrest.  Somebody  was  on  deck. 
Somebody  with  a  peaked  fur  hood — somebody  who 


304         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

gave  a  great  shout  that  brought  others  from  every 
where.  And  a  moment  later  we  were  on  board — 
welcomed  by  those  who  loved  us! 

"  Biff,"  said  Gale,  as  he  greeted  him,  "  have  you 
got  up  steam?  " 

"  A  little,  and  I  can  get  up  a  good  deal  more  in 
five  minutes." 

"  Well,  get  her  up,  and  let's  pull  out  of  here, 
quick!" 

Then  turning  to  me: 

"  Come,  Nick,  break  away  there,  and  let's  get 
these  wet  clothes  off  while  Johnnie's  looking  after 
something  extra  for  dinner.  I  told  you  we'd  get 
here  in  time." 


XXXVIII. 

STORM    AND    STRESS. 

UPON  our  voyage  to  the  north  I  shall  not  dwell. 
I  have  neither  the  time  nor  the  willingness  to  do  so. 
The  memory  of  those  days  is  weird  and  depressing. 
I  would  cover  with  all  speed  the  place  they  occupy  in 
this  history. 

From  Bottle  Bay  we  followed  the  great  salt  cur 
rent  eastward,  as  we  did  not  believe  it  possible  to 
work  northward  against  it.  For  two  days  all  went 
well,  and  we  found  happiness  in  our  reunion  and 
homeward  progress.  Then  all  the  joyless  misery  of 
Antarctic  lands  and  seas  seemed  to  gather  and  shut 
us  in. 

For  five  weeks  through  this  blinding  fog,  crash 
ing  ice,  and  imminent,  sleep-destroying  peril  we 
crept,  and  toiled,  and  struggled,  and  battled  our 
way  toward  open  water.  For  days  we  did  not  re 
move  our  clothing  to  rest,  but  lay  down  ready  for 
instant  action,  whether  to  save  or  desert  the  ship. 

Depression  seized  upon  us  all.  Edith  Gale  was 
ill  much  of  the  time  and  lost  her  appreciation  of 

the  beauties  of  nature.     Even  Gale  himself  found  it 
20  305 


306         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

hard  to  create  cheer  through  this  grim  period. 
During  moments  of  comparative  calm  he  wandered 
about  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  trying  to  whis 
tle,  but  it  was  a  dismal  tune. 

As  for  myself,  I  despaired  utterly.  More  than 
ever  I  realized  what  I  had  done  in  bringing  those 
who  had  trusted  me  into  so  dire  a  plight.  And  for 
what?  To  prove  a  theory  that  was  worth  nothing 
to  them  or  to  me,  after  all  was  told.  To  seek  out 
a  practically  inaccessible  land,  and  what  now  seemed 
to  me  a  paltry,  indolent  race  that  added  nothing  to 
the  world's  store  of  wealth  or  progress — to  pay  for 
it  with  our  lives.  I  had  promised  a  new  world,  per 
haps  wealth  beyond  our  wildest  dreams.  I  had 
found,  instead,  a  land  of  dreams  only,  and  of  shad 
ows.  I  had  brought  us  all,  at  last,  face  to  face  with 
privation,  suffering — death.  Even  should  we  event 
ually  reach  home,  it  seemed  to  me  that  I,  still  a  pen 
niless  adventurer,  could  not  presume  to  claim  the 
hand  of  Edith  Gale.  Truly  I  was  in  the  depths. 

Whether  we  kept  with  the  current,  or  what  part 
it  played  in  our  struggles,  we  could  not  tell,  but  we 
reached  at  last  the  easier  seas  below  Cape  Horn,  and 
here  we  were  met  by  what  seemed  to  us  the  King  of 
All  Storms,  determined  at  last  to  destroy  us  for 
having  penetrated  the  depths  of  his  domain. 

We  were  off  the  South  Shetlands  again,  some 
where  near  the  spot  where,  twenty  years  before,  my 


STORM  AND  STRESS.  307 

uncle's  vessel  had  been  last  seen  battling  with  a 
mighty  tempest,  and  was  supposed  to  have  gone 
down.  I  reflected  vaguely  that  it  must  have  been 
another  just  such  as  this,  and  that  it  was  a  curious 
fate  that  had  brought  me  with  those  I  loved  to  find  a 
grave  in  the  same  unfriendly  waters. 

There  were  nights,  now,  and  the  black  sea  and 
sky  made  this  one  a  memory  that  divides  as  with  a 
sable  curtain  all  that  went  before  it  from  all  that 
followed  after. 

Once  there  came  a  heavy  jar  as  our  keel  struck 
and  grated  over  some  hidden  reef.  We  had  no 
means  of  knowing  where  we  were,  and  even  had  we 
known,  the  knowledge  would  have  availed  us  little 
in  these  uncharted  seas. 

Suddenly,  in  the  electric  glow  of  our  searchlight, 
there  rose  straight  before  us  a  black  wall  that  was 
not  the  penetrable  night.  A  great  wave  just  then 
lifted  us  and  bore  us  forward.  An  instant  later 
there  came  a  jar  that  threw  us  from  our  feet,  and 
then  the  stanch  old  Billowcrest  no  longer  tossed 
and  pitched  and  battled,  but  lay  rocking  helplessly, 
as  though  wounded  to  the  life. 

There  came  first  a  quick  order  to  lower  the  boats. 
Then  another  to  hold  them  in  readiness,  but  not  to 
launch  until  the  vessel  gave  signs  of  breaking  up. 
It  was  better  to  remain  where  we  were,  as  long  as 
we  could — to  wait  for  daylight,  if  possible.  Ex- 


308         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

amined  below,  the  Billowcrest  showed  as  yet  no 
opening,  and  seemed  to  be  lying  easily. 

Morning  dawned  at  last  on  a  gray,  desolate  shore, 
with  a  sea  as  gray  and  desolate,  between.  But  the 
King  of  Storms,  satisfied,  perhaps,  that  he  had 
stranded  us  on  a  desert  island,  had  gone  his  way. 

Chauncey  Gale  came  on  deck  presently  with 
Edith,  still  pale  and  ill,  but  more  animated  than  she 
had  been  for  days.  With  Captain  Biffer  I  had  come 
out  early  to  view  the  shore. 

"  Well,  Biff,"  greeted  Gale,  "  you  seem  to  have 
got  us  anchored  some  place  at  last.  Don't  look 
much  like  the  last  place  we  stopped,  but  I  s'pose  it's 
all  in  a  day's  work.  What  do  you  call  it?  " 

"  One  of  the  South  Shetlands,  I  should  say.  I 
don't  know  which." 

"  How's  the  ship?     Any  holes  in  her  yet?  " 

"  No,  and  she  ain't  grinding  any  that  I  can  hear. 
But  she's  aground  good  and  hard.  She  seems  to  be 
on  a  flat  surface — mebbe  sand.  The  sea's  running 
down,  too,  and  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  we  were  left 
high  and  dry  before  long." 

"Oh,  can't  we  go  ashore?"  asked  Edith  Gale, 
eagerly. 

Poor  girl,  it  was  the  first  real  land  she  had  seen 
for  more  than  a  year,  and  even  this  cheerless  coast 
seemed  inviting. 

Captain  Biffer  nodded  grimly. 


STORM  AND  STRESS.  309 

"  We'll  have  plenty  of  time  to  do  that,  ma'am," 
he  said,  "  before  we  get  out  of  here,  I'm  thinking." 

"  Oh,  Nicholas,  will  you  take  me  right  away?  I 
do  so  want  to  set  foot  on  solid  ground  again." 

"  We  will  go  as  soon  as  the  Captain  will  let  us," 
I  said,  "  and  give  us  somebody  to  take  us  over." 

The  sea  continued  to  run  down,  and  during  the 
forenoon  the  Billowcrest  listed,  though  far  less  than 
if  she  had  been  a  deeper  vessel.  The  weather  cleared 
just  before  luncheon,  and  soon  afterwards  Chaun- 
cey  and  Edith  Gale,  with  Officer  Larkins  and  my 
self,  and  a  small  crew,  made  ready  to  set  out  in  the 
launch  for  investigation.  At  the  last  moment,  we 
heard  somebody  come  puffing  up  the  companion- 
way,  and  Zar,  fully  arrayed  for  the  trip,  stood  be 
fore  us. 

"  Look  heah,  I  wan'  you  take  me  in  dat  boat !  I 
jes'  wan'  to  set  dis  old  foot  on  solidificated  groun' 
once  more  befo'  I  die.  I  mighty  tiahd  dis  ole  ship 
dat  toss,  an'  tip,  an'  spread-eagle,  and  double- 
shuffle,  an'  keep  hit  up  foh  six  weeks  at  a  stretch,  an' 
now  tip  ovah  like  a  side-hill,  so  a'  old,  fat  'ooman 
like  me  cain't  fin'  her  balance,  nohow.  I  wan'  go 
long,  I  tell  you." 

So  Zar  accompanied  us,  and  we  landed  presently 
at  a  shelving  beach,  where  we  were  greeted  by  some 
noisy  birds,  and  a  few  small  hair-seals,  who  slipped 
into  the  water  as  we  approached.  Leaving  the  crew 


3io         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

we  made  our  way  between  barren  hills  to  the  coun 
try  beyond. 

The  sun  had  come  out,  now,  and  being  midsum 
mer  it  seemed  warm  and  genial,  especially  to  those 
who  had  seen  no  other  land  for  so  long. 

"  Not  much  like  our  violet  reception  in  the  Ant- 
arctics,  eh,  Nick  ?  "  said  Gale. 

"Oh,  but  it's  land!  land!"  breathed  Edith 
"  Warm,  solid  land !  Aren't  we  glad  to  see  it, 
Zar?  "  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  she  grew  well  as  I 
watched  her. 

"  Yes,  ma'am!  We  is  dat!  Hit's  a  mighty  po' 
country,  I  spec',  but  hit  seem  to  me  right  now  as 
fine  an'  proliferous  as  ole  Vaginny!  " 

Even  Mr.  Larkins  seemed  to  joy  in  the  land  feel 
ing,  and  said  that  it  reminded  him  of  places  in  New 
foundland,  where  as  a  boy  he  had  found  the  bake- 
apple.  He  believed  we  could  find  it  here,  if  we 
looked  about  a  little. 

We  pushed  our  way  inland,  and  farther  down  the 
coast.  There  was  a  sparse  moss  vegetation  here 
and  there,  and  on  one  sunny  bank  we  found  a  con 
siderable  bed  of  this  growth.  Edith  Gale  dropped 
down  upon  it  luxuriously,  and  the  rest  of  us  fol 
lowed  her  example. 

"Oh,  how  beautiful!"  she  cried,  "and  how  I 
loathe  the  ship!  It  seems  to  me  that  I  could  stay 
here  forever!  " 


STORM  AND  STRESS.  311 

Zar  grunted   approvingly,   but   Gale   said : 

"  I'd  be  glad  enough  to  hurry  back  to  the  old  Bil- 
lowcrest  if  she  was  only  afloat.  We'll  get  tired 
enough  of  this,  I'm  thinking,  before  that  happens." 

I  made  no  comment  on  this,  but  called  attention 
to  a  ledge  of  rocks  just  beyond. 

"  Looks  as  if  somebody  had  been  hammering  on 
it,"  I  said.  "  I  suppose  nobody  lives  on  these  is 
lands." 

"  Not  a  soul  crreature,"  declared  Mr.  Larkins. 
"  Forthy  year  ago  they  used  to  come  here  for  the 
furr-seals,  but  they  got  the  last  of  'em  in  a  shmall 
bit  of  a  time.  No  pay  in  comin'  for  the  little  hair 
fellies.  Tis  said  they's  gold  here,  too,  but  I've 
never  met  the  man  that  saw  the  color  of  it." 

We  rose  and  walked  on.  We  had  grown  a  bit 
chilly,  sitting,  and  would  presently  return  to  the 
vessel.  All  at  once,  Edith  Gale  stopped  and  held  up 
her  hand. 

"  Wait — listen!  "  she  commanded. 

Borne  to  us  on  a  light  breeze  from  the  south, 
came  the  sound  of  a  voice  singing. 

We  looked  at  each  other  startled.  There  was 
something  about  it,  most  uncanny. 

"  My  good  lawd !  "  groaned  Zar.  "  Dat's  a  sho 
sperritt!  Lemme  get  outen  heah  an'  back  to  dat 
boat." 

Mr.  Larkins  detained  her, 


3 1 2        THE  GREA  T  WHITE  WA  Y. 

"  Wait,"  he  said.  "  There's  a  bit  of  an  echo 
hereabout.  The  singin'  '11  be  comin'  from  the  ship, 
I  think." 

There  was  a  wave  of  relief.  Then  Gale  dis 
sented. 

"  That's  not  from  the  ship.  The  wind  isn't  right. 
It's  from  the  land— 

We  hurried  to  the  top  of  a  little  rise,  just  ahead ; 
here  we  halted  and  listened  again.  We  could  hear 
much  more  plainly  now.  Even  the  words  came 
quite  distinctly. 

"  I'm  out  of  humanity's  reach — 

I  must  finish  my  journey  alone. 
Afar  from  the  music  of  speech — 
I  start  at  the  sound  of  my  own." 

"  Selkirk's  hymn,"  I  whispered.  "  I  know  it  per 
fectly.  My  grandmother  sang  it  to  her  children, 
and  my  mother  to  me." 

"  I  am  monarch  of  all  I  survey — 

My  right  there  is  none  to  dispute — 
From  the  center  all  round  to  the  sea, 
I  am  lord  of  the  fowl  and  the  brute." 

"Yes!  yes!  and  that,  too!"  I  added,  excitedly. 
"  Some  one  is  cast  away  in  this  place.  Come,  we 
must  find  him !  " 

"  Oh,  and  quickly !  "  urged  Edith ;  but  the  sing 
ing  had  begun  again  and  we  hesitated,  to  listen. 


STORM  AND  STRESS.  313 

•'  There  is  a  calm  for  those  who  weep, 

A  rest  for  weary  pilgrims  found. 
They  softly  lie  and  sweetly  sleep, 
Low  in  the  ground." 

"  The  storm  that  wrecks  the  winter's  sky 

No  more  disturbs  their  sweet  reposa 
Than  summer  evening's  latest  sigh 
That  shuts  the  rose. 

"  I  know  that,  too,"  said  Edith.  "  It  is  by 
James  Montgomery.  It  is  also  a  hymn." 

"  And  another  of  those  I  heard  in  childhood,"  I 
answered  eagerly.  "  The  favorite  of — of  one  who 
perished — Come  on !  everybody,  I  must  see  what 
this  means! " 

The  singing  had  ceased  now,  but  we  hastily 
scrambled  over  the  rocks  in  the  direction  from 
which  it  had  come.  Pushing  out  from  behind  a 
great  bowlder  we  looked  down  a  little  slope  upon 
what  at  first  seemed  to  be  a  heap  of  bowlders. 
Then  we  saw  that  it  was  the  construction  of  human 
hands — a  habitation.  We  descended  quickly, 
though  almost  in  silence,  only  whispering  caution 
to  each  other.  A  rolling  stone,  however,  slipped 
from  beneath  my  foot  and  went  plunging  to  the 
side  of  the  hut.  A  moment  later  there  stepped  out 
into  view  a  curious  fur-clad  figure — tall,  bearded, 
and  with  masses  of  grizzled  hair  upon  his  shoulders. 
An  aged  man  he  seemed,  but  bronzed,  erect,  and 
with  the  movement  of  strength. 


3 14         THE  GREA  T  WHITE  WA  Y. 

A  moment  he  looked  at  us  as  if  doubting  his  vis 
ion.  Then,  flinging  both  arms  in  the  air,  he  gave 
a  great  cry  of  welcome. 

We  rushed  down  and  surrounded  him.  He 
seized  our  hands  wildly. 

"Who  are  you?"  he  cried.  "Who  are  you? 
And  why  are  you  here?  " 

But  I  besought  him  with  fierce  eagerness. 

"Tell  us,  first,  who  you  are!"  I  commanded. 
"  and  why  you  are  here !" 

"  Oh,  it  does  not  matter,"  he  answered,  "  I  have 
been  dead  twenty  years!  But  when  I  was  in  the 
world  of  men  I  was  called  Nicholas  Lovejoy." 

"  Then,"  I  shouted,  "  you  are  my  uncle — for  I 
am  Nicholas  Chase !  " 


XXXIX. 

WHERE  DREAMS  BECOME  REAL. 

IN  the  little  hut  which  he  had  built,  and  where  all 
the  years  he  had  lived  alone,  he  told  us  his  story.  It 
was  hardly  more  than  a  word.  When  the  vessel 
went  down,  he  had  drifted  with  one  other,  on  a  spar, 
to  this  island.  The  other  had  died  next  day  from 
exposure,  and  was  buried  not  far  away.  And  win 
ter  and  summer  for  twenty-one  years  the  survivor 
had  waited  for  those  who  never  came. 

At  first  he  had  hoisted  the  spar  with  a  signal,  but 
long  since  he  had  lost  hope,  and  when  at  last  a  wind 
blew  it  down  he  had  not  replaced  it.  His  speech  he 
had  preserved  by  singing  and  reciting  such  things 
as  he  knew,  and  so  comforted  himself.  Less  than 
seventy  years  old,  he  was  still  a  man  of  strength  and 
vigor. 

In  return  I  informed  him  of  our  plight  and  briefly 
outlined  our  previous  expedition.  When  I  had  fin 
ished  my  Uncle  Nicholas  regarded  me  for  a  moment 
in  silence.  Then,  smiling: 

"  So,  Nick,  you  found  the  warm  South  Pole.  My 
boy,  I  have  believed  in  it  for  fifty  years." 

3'S 


3i6        THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

"  I  always  thought  of  you  in  that  way,"  I  said. 
"  I  knew  you  would  have  helped  me.  I  even 
thought  you  might  have  gone  there." 

"  And  so  I  might  if  my  ship  had  come  into  port," 
he  sighed.  Then,  to  Gale,  "  As  for  your  ship,  I 
think  she  is  safe  enough.  She  is  probably  on  the 
sand  only.  It  makes  in  and  out  of  that  place  as 
the  winds  change.  You  may  have  twenty  feet  of 
water  there  in  a  week." 

He  set  out  with  us  for  the  vessel.  At  first  sight 
of  the  Billowcrest,  he  paused  and  regarded  her  rap 
turously. 

"  Oh,  that  beautiful  ship,"  he  cried.  "  How  I 
have  longed  for  this  moment." 

It  was  with  him  as  with  Edith  when  she  had  wel 
comed  his  desert  island.  The  Billowcrest  was  not 
really  beautiful  after  her  long  battle  with  the  ele 
ments,  and  perhaps  later  he  might  not  altogether  ap 
prove  of  her  model,  but  now  she  seemed  as  a  winged 
messenger  from  Paradise. 

When  we  reached  the  launch  the  sailors  regarded 
our  companion  with  wonder,  and  as  we  drew  near 
the  Billowcrest  a  curious  group  gathered  on  the  deck 
forward. 

Foremost  of  these  Was  Captain  Biffer.  I  had 
never  spoken  to  him  of  my  sailor  uncle.  My  for 
mer  experiences  in  that  line  may  have  resulted  in 
this  delicacy,  or  it  may  have  been  out  of  considera- 


DREAMS  BECOME  REAL.    317 

tion  for  my  relative,  whose  skill  as  a  navigator 
might  have  been  judged  by  that  of  his  nephew. 
Now,  however,  I  ascended  proudly  to  the  deck. 

"  Captain  Biffer,"  I  said,  "  I  want  to  present  to 
you  my  uncle,  Caotain  Nicholas  Lovejoy." 

With  his  deflected  orb  Captain  Biffer  pierced  my 
innermost  being,  while  with  his  good  eye  he 
searched  deeply  the  soul  of  the  man  before  him.  He 
tried  to  speak,  but  at  first  his  voice  failed  him. 
Then  he  said  huskily : 

"  Captain  Nick  Lovejoy,  don't  you  know  your 
old  shipmate,  Joe  Biffer?" 

My  uncle,  too,  started  and  gasped. 

"My  God,  yes!"  he  said,  "it's  Joe— Joe  Biffer 
of  Boston ! " 

A  moment  later  Captain  Biffer  turned  and  seized 
my  hand. 

"  Why  didn't  you  tell  me?  "  he  demanded;  "  and 
say,  Chase,  I've  learned  to  like  a  good  many  things 
about  you  since  we've  been  together,  but  this  is  the 
best  yet." 

At  which  Zar,  who  was  standing  by,  added : 

"  An'  to  think  dat  ole  Aunt  Arties  o'  his  turned 
out  to  be  a'  uncle,  aftah  all ! " 

That  night  in  my  stateroom  my  Uncle  Nicholas 
and  I  talked  until  near  morning.  I  told  him  of 
events  that  had  come  and  gone,  and  of  family 
changes.  Then  more  fully  of  our  expedition,  my 


3i8         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

love  for  Edith  Gale,  and  how,  as  matters  had 
turned  out,  I  did  not  feel  justified  in  claiming  the 
promise  she  had  made  me. 

He  listened  quietly  and  when  I  had  finished,  he 
said : 

"  It's  the  money  difference  you  feel  most,  isn't 
it?" 

I  nodded. 

"  I  have  only  a  few  thousand  dollars,"  I  said,  "  a 
mere  drop  with  a  man  like  Gale." 

He  took  my  hand. 

"  Never  mind,  my  boy.  Money  isn't  everything. 
You  are  about  to  give  to  the  world  a  knowledge  it 
has  long  hungered  for,  and  true  love  is  of  more 
value  than  either.  Besides  you  are — or  would  have 
been — my  heir,  if  my  ship  had  come  into  port.  As 
it  is,  perhaps  I  can  help  a  little.  I  have  had  a  good 
deal  of  time  to  prospect,  over  yonder,  during  the 
past  twenty  years,  and  I  have  found  indications  that 
may  develop  something  in  the  way  of  mining. 
We'll  go  over  to-morrow,  and  take  a  look.  Good 
night,  now — I  mean  good  morning — you  must  try 
and  rest  some." 

I  retired,  but  sleep  seemed  far  from  me.  The 
events  of  the  day  had  been  too  momentous.  And 
then  my  uncle's  words  had  left  in  me  a  spark  of 
comfort — of  hope.  Yet,  from  somewhere  out  of 
the  spaces  sleep  did  come,  and  the  sun  was  pour- 


DREAMS  BECOME  REAL.         319 

ing  into  the  uptilted  port-hole  of  my  stateroom  when 
I  awoke. 

We  were  off  for  the  island  again,  immediately 
after  breakfast.  My  uncle,  trimmed,  and  arrayed 
in  one  of  Captain  Biffer's  uniforms,  made  now  a 
most  imposing  figure,  and  this  time  Captain  Biff°r 
himself,  with  Chauncey  and  Edith  Gale,  com 
pleted  the  party. 

As  we  passed  the  point  of  rock  where  I  had  no 
ticed  what  had  seemed  to  me  signs  of  hammering:, 
my  uncle  paused. 

"  Here  is  one  place  where  I  prospected,"  he  said. 
He  pointed  to  a  thread-like  vein  of  yellow.  "  I  be 
lieve  that  is  gold.  But  I  have  never  had  tools  to  fol 
low  a  ledge  vein,  and  have  done  rather  more  at 
looking  for  placers,  such  as  I  saw  in  California,  in 
the  fifties." 

My  hopes  withered.  The  tiny  yellow  streak 
seemed  to  me  so  small  and  uncertain.  As  for  "  pla 
cers,"  I  only  knew  dimly  that  they  were  connected  in 
some  way  with  "  pockets,"  and  "  washing." 

We  pushed  on  to  his  hut  of  stones.  A  very  com 
fortable  hut  we  had  found  it  to  be,  and  more  roomy 
than  it  had  appeared  from  without.  My  uncle  en 
tered  first,  and  presently  called  to  us.  Within,  he 
indicated  seats  on  the  stone  benches  ranged  around 
the  walls.  He  first  exhibited  a  few  curiosities  he 


320         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

had  gathered  during  his  long  exile,  then  also  seat 
ing  himself,  he  said : 

"  My  nephew  Nicholas  confided  to  me  last  night 
a  matter  I  take  to  be  well  understood  by  all  pres 
ent.  It  concerns  chiefly  himself  and  a  certain 
young  lady,  who  is  not  far  away."  He  looked  to 
ward  Edith  Gale,  who  blushed  and  smiled,  but  said 
nothing.  "  Nicholas  told  me  further,"  my  uncle 
continued,  "  of  his  lack  of  fortune,  and  his  unwill 
ingness  to  hold  her  to  a  promise  made  with  differ 
ent  prospects  ahead." 

At  this  point  Chauncey  Gale  started  to  speak,  but 
my  Uncle  Nicholas  checked  him.  I  did  not  look  at 
Edith,  but  she  told  me  afterwards  how  she  felt,  and 
I  sympathized  with  her.  My  uncle  proceeded. 

"  I  told  my  nephew  that  money  was  not  all  of  life. 
That  he  would  give  to  the  world  a  treasure  of  infor 
mation,  and  that  love  was  still  greater  than  either 
knowledge  or  riches." 

I  began  to  grow  uncomfortable.  Also,  less  glad 
than  I  had  been  that  we  had  discovered  my  uncle. 
True,  he  had  not  talked  to  anybody  for  so  long  that 
he  was  doubtless  anxious  to  make  up  for  lost  time, 
but  I  wished  he  had  selected  some  other  subject. 
We  waited  the  end  in  silence. 

"  He  would  have  been  my  heir,"  he  went  on, 
"  had  my  ship  come  into  port.  He  is  my  heir  to 
day  of  whatever  of  property  or  prospect  I  may  leave 


DREAMS  BECOME  REAL.          321 

behind.  Of  prospect  I  believe  there  is  considerable 
on  this  island.  Of  property — well,  as  I  told  Nick, 
I  have  had  a  good  deal  of  time  on  my  hands  during 
the  past  twenty-one  years,  and  the  result  " — turn 
ing,  he  laid  his  hand  on  a  great  flat  stone  in  the 
wall  near  him,  and  swung  it  aside — "  it  is  in 
there — you  can  see  it  for  yourselves." 

We  leaned  forward  and  looked  into  the  opening 
made.  Beyond,  there  was  a  sort  of  storehouse  or 
small  room,  the  floor  smoothly  covered  with  skins. 
In  the  center  arose  a  heap  or  pyramid  of  what  ap 
peared  to  be  irregular  yellow  lumps  of  earth,  or  peb 
bles,  of  varying  sizes — some  very  small — others 
quite  large.  No  one  spoke,  but  we  looked  at  him 
questioningly. 

"  Those  are  nuggets,"  he  said.  "  That  pile  con 
tains.  I  believe,  about  two  tons  of  solid  gold !  " 


XL. 

CLAIMING  THE   REWARD. 

FOR  three  weeks  the  Billowcrest  lay  a  prisoner  off 
the  South  Shetlands — just  which  of  these  islands,  I 
do  not  consider  it  proper  at  this  time  to  say.  As 
sisted  by  Chauncey  and  Edith  Gale,  my  uncle  and  I 
put  the  treasure  into  bags  and  had  it  conveyed  to  the 
vessel  as  "  mineral  specimens,"  for  we  felt  that  we 
could  not  wholly  trust  our  crew.  Then  at  length  a 
wind  from  the  northwest  set  the  currents  a  new  pace 
and  altered  the  sand  drift.  We  found  ourselves 
afloat  one  morning,  and  crowding  on  sail  and  steam 
made  all  speed  northward,  arriving  safely  in  New 
York  harbor  on  the  evening  of  February  second, 
after  an  absence  of  nearly  eighteen  months. 

As  we  came  in  through  the  dusk,  the  splendid 
cities  and  the  bridge  between  to  us  seemed  glori 
ously  illuminated ;  but  if  so,  it  was  not  in  our  honor. 
Nobody  knew  that  we  had  returned,  or  even  that  we 
had  gone. 

We  steamed  up  North  River  to  our  old  dock,  and 

Chauncey  Gale  set  forth  at  once  to  catch  a  Broad- 
322 


CLAIMING  THE  REWARD.        323 

way  car  for  a  certain  down-town  theater,  which  he 
greatly  feared  had  been  discontinued  during  our  ab 
sence.  Next  morning  I  went  with  my  uncle  to  es 
tablish  some  desirable  banking  connections,  through 
which  his  treasure  might  be  properly  trans 
ferred,  and  converted  into  funds. 

As  to  when  and  in  what  manner  we  should  make 
our  adventures,  and  the  results  of  the  expedition, 
public  property,  we  were  at  first  undecided.  News 
paper  notoriety  was  not  a  pleasant  prospect,  partic 
ularly  as  we  were  already  contemplating  a  second 
voyage  to  the  South.  We  therefore  concluded  to 
say  nothing  immediately,  and  meanwhile  to  have  the 
old  Billowcrest  thoroughly  overhauled  and  outfitted 
for  the  voyage  to  be  undertaken  in  the  late  sum 
mer — not  to  the  South  Pole  this  time,  but  to  the 
South  Shetlands,  to  develop  in  the  spot  of  his  exile 
the  mines  which  my  uncle  believes  to  be  almost  in 
exhaustible. 

And  so — to  use  the  so-called  Irish  form — we  have 
"  continued  to  say  nothing  "  through  the  spring  and 
summer,  during  which  period  I  have  prepared  the 
matter  already  in  the  proper  hands  for  publication. 

We  are  about  to  sail  again  now,  and  by  the  time 
my  report  is  given  to  the  reader  I  shall  be  beyond 
the  reach  of  either  approval  or  condemnation — far 
on  my  way  to  our  new  "  Treasure  Island  "  of  the 
South,  where  the  rarest  treasure  will  be  one  who 


324 


THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 


joins  in  this,  our  unique  honeymoon — she  who  was 
Edith  Gale. 

For  I  claimed  my  reward  this  morning — two 
years  from  the  day  when  she  jestingly  agreed  that 
I  should  name  my  price  for  a  new  world — and  in 
the  little  forward  cabin  of  the  Billowcrest  where  the 
agreement  was  made. 


"  It  was  hardly  fair,"  she  whispered,  just  before 
the  ceremony.  "  I  am  paying  to  the  full,  while  you, 
though  you  found  the  world,  could  not  deliver  it 
into  my  hands." 


CLAIMING  THE  REWARD.         325 

"  It  is  the  old  story,"  I  said.  "  The  man  always 
gets  more  than  he  bargained  for,  and  the  woman 
less." 

And  Chauncey  Gale,  when  he  took  our  hands  in 
congratulation,  repeated  the  first  comment  that  was 
made  when  my  uncle  showed  us  his  store  of  gold. 

"  Well,  Nick,"  he  said,  "  as  I  remarked  once  be 
fore,  I'm  something  of  a  speculator,  myself,  but  I 
give  you  credit  for  making  the  smallest  investments 
and  raking  off  the  biggest  returns  on  record." 

He  accompanies  us  on  our  expedition.  He  hesi 
tated  somewhat  at  first,  but  a  few  months  of  New 
York  and  a  warm  northern  summer  have  brought 
back  the  memory  and  nameless  fascination  of  the 
glacial  atmosphere  and  trackless  seas  of  the  far 
south. 

"  Besides,"  he  said,  "  I'm  not  going  to  become  a 
vagrant  in  my  old  age.  Think  of  me  being  home 
less  in  the  streets  of  New  York,  with  no  place  to 
hang  up  in,  except  the  police  station  of  the  Waldoria. 
Oh,  Lord,  what's  a  hat  without  a  hall-tree!" 

Mr.  Sturritt,  too,  remains  '*  with  the  Admiral,  as 
usual."  He  has  prepared  lozenges  in  new  and  im 
proved  combinations,  and  especially  adapted  to  the 
exertions  of  a  miner's  life.  Even  Zar  is  not  going 
to  desert  us.  Our  former  voyage,  with  Mr.  Stur 
ritt  in  charge  of  the  commissary,  was  not  without  its 
attractions  for  her,  and  she  now  declares  that  "  if 


326         THE  GREAT  WHITE  WAY. 

we  jus'  give  up  huntirv  foh  poles,  an'  stick  to  lookin' 
up  our  los'  relation,  she  has  no  rejections  to  he'pin' 
us  all  she  can.  Besides,"  she  says,  "  my  Miss  Edith 
ain'  gwine  off  down  dere  widout  her  ole  mammy  to 
sing  '  Brown  Cows  '  when  that  po'  liT  gal  cain't 
sleep." 

My  Uncle  Nicholas,  who  has  spent  much  of  the 
summer  with  relatives,  will  naturally  be  in  charge 
of  the  expedition,  though  Captain  Biffer  will  con 
tinue  in  command  of  the  Billowcrest,  with  Officers 
Larkins  and  Emory  as  heretofore. 

"  Thim's  the  bake-apple,"  said  the  former,  when 
I  first  showed  him  a  handful  of  the  nuggets.  "  The 
little  yellow  berries  that  grow  one  on  a  shtalk — I 
felt  in  me  bones  that  they  grew  there.  I'll  be  help- 
in'  ye  hunt  fer  thim." 

And  so  it  is,  that  of  those  who  sailed  with  us  be 
fore,  only  Ferratoni  is  missing.  He  has  become  to 
us  as  a  sweet  memory,  but  far  to  the  south,  where 
lies  my  long-ago  fancy,  he  has  found  that  of  which 
he  also,  dreamed.  The  long,  polar  night  now  lingers 
there,  but  I  recall  that  enchanted  land  only  as 
bathed  in  the  light  of  an  eternal  afternoon,  where 
in,  after  our  weary  struggle,  we  found  for  a  time 
the  anodyne  of  forgetfulness  and  rest.  Perhaps  ere 
this  he  has  learned  a  way  to  lighten  the  burden  of 
their  long  dark,  and  however  this  may  be,  we  are 
happy  in  knowing  that  he,  too,  walks  in  the  light  of 


CLAIMING  THE  REWARD.         327 

love,  and  that  his  gentle  soul  is  chorded  at  last  with 
the  perfect  ideal. 

But  I  am  writing — writing.  Already  both 
Chauncey  Gale  and  my  Uncle  Nicholas  have  looked 
in  to  say  that  Captain  Biffer  is  ready  to  cast  off, 
while  Edith,  who  sits  by  to  read  as  I  finish  these  last 
lines,  whispers  that  the  messenger  boy  is  eagerly 
afraid  we  are  going  to  carry  him  away  with  us. 

There  came  to  me  last  night,  once  more,  the  old 
childhood  dream  of  blue  water  and  white  sails. 

And  the  tide  still  calls,  and  the  wind  is  fair,  and  I 
am  going  back  to  the  sea. 


THE  END. 


Date  Due 


PRINTED   IN    U.S.A. 


CAT.    NO.    24    161 


000  594  046     5 


